Body Posture and Temperament in Adolescents: Implications for Individualised Prevention and Rehabilitation Strategies

Background: /Objectives: Body posture and temperament share common neurophysiological determinants related to muscle tone regulation, motor activity and behavioural reactivity. Despite this shared biological basis, posture has primarily been investigated within biomechanics and medicine, whereas temperament, in psychology. Integrating these perspectives may not only improve psychomotor development understanding, but also provide a foundation for more individualised preventive and rehabilitation strategies. The study aim was to analyse the relationship between body posture and temperament types in adolescents and determine posture type prevalence in the sagittal plane, particularly focusing on potential clinical relevance. Methods: The study included 272 students aged 16-17 years. Body posture was assessed using the DIERS Formetric III 4D system based on rasterstereography, enabling non-invasive three-dimensional spinal curvature analysis. Nine posture types were identified based on thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis parameters. Temperament traits were evaluated using the Pavlovian Temperament Survey, assessing excitation and inhibition strength, and mobility of nervous processes. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics and chi-square tests, with significance at p < 0.05. Results: Normal spinal curvature configuration was observed in 27.6% of participants, while 72.4% presented deviations. The most common pattern was reduced thoracic kyphosis combined with normal or reduced lumbar lordosis, indicating predominance of flattened physiological spinal curvatures. Melancholic temperament was the most frequent type in both groups (40.1% in participants with abnormal posture and 37.3% in those demonstrating normal posture). No statistically significant associations between posture type and temperament were found in the majority of configurations (p > 0.05). A significant relationship was identified between reduced thoracic kyphosis and increased lumbar lordosis (p = 0.024), with predominance of melancholic and sanguine types (40% each). A significant result was also observed for increased thoracic kyphosis with reduced lumbar lordosis (p = 0.001); however, this finding should be interpreted cautiously due to the small sample size. Conclusions: Adolescent body posture is characterised by high variability and predominance of abnormal patterns. Relationship between posture and temperament appear selective rather than general. Temperament may act as a modulating factor in postural regulation, particularly in specific spinal curvature configurations. These findings suggest incorporating temperamental characteristics into postural assessment may support development of more individualised prevention and rehabilitation strategies in adolescents.