Dark Triad Personalities, Self-control, and Antisocial/Criminal Outcomes in Youth

Abstract

The Dark Triad composed of psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism, and also self-control are consistently related to antisocial and criminal externalizing outcomes. In the present study, we examined whether self-control mediates the relationships between the Dark Triad and delinquency, conduct disorder, and crime seriousness outcomes. The sample consisted of 567 adolescents (M = 15.91 years, SD = 0.99 years, range = 14-18 years) from Portugal. Self-control mediated the association between psychopathy and Machiavellianism (but not narcissism) and self-reported juvenile delinquency, conduct disorder symptoms, and crime seriousness. One reason antisocial/criminal behaviors are common in those characterized by psychopathy and Machiavellianism relates to their deficits in selfcontrol as suggested by general theories. Within the nomological network of dark traits, narcissism appears to have enduring and unmediated associations with externalizing features and conduct problems. Our findings add to the literature modeling the Dark Triad along with self-control to elucidate its contributions to antisocial/criminal outcomes in youth.

The effects of negative life events and dark tetrad traits on antisocial behaviour in adolescents

“…Прегледом прве деценије истраживања Мрачне тријаде указано је на повезаност коју она остварује са антисоцијалним понашањем (Furnham, Richards & Paulhus, 2013). Када су у истраживањима учествовала деца и адолесценти, резултати студија показују да су склоност ка делинквенцији и проблемима у понашању чешћи, озбиљнији и разноврснији код младих са израженом психопатијом (Frick & White, 2008;Muris, Meesters & Timmermans, 2013;Pechorro, DeLisi, Gonçalves, Braga & Maroco, 2022;van Baardewijk, Stegge, Bushman & Vermeiren, 2009). Поред психопатије и нарцизам показује значајне везе са проблемима у понашању и агресијом (Barry, Frick, Adler & Grafeman, 2007;Barry, Grafeman, Adler & Pickard, 2007;Fanti & Kimonis, 2012;Lau & Marsee, 2013).…”

“…У другом истраживању чији су узорак чинили адолесценти код којих постоји ризик за испољавање делинквентног понашања, нарцизам је био повезан са злоупотребом супстанци (цигарете, различите врсте дрога), макијавелизам са коришћењем алкохола, док психопатија није била повезана са коришћењем супстанци (Pechorro, Jonason, Raposo & Maroco, 2021). Потом, док нека истраживања указују на повезаност макијавелизма и нарцизма са делинквентним понашањем (Lau & Marsee, 2013;Palma, Pechorro, Prather, Matavelli, Correia & Jesus, 2021;, поједине студије указују на то да ове црте не доприносе објашњењу антисоцијалног понашања (Chabrol et al, 2009;Muris, Meesters & Timmermans, 2013;Palma, Pechorro, Nunes, Correia & Jesus, 2020;Pechorro, DeLisi, Gonçalves, Braga & Maroco, 2022). Обе црте су повезане са емоционалном дисрегулацијом, а нарцизам и са бихејвиоралном, што сугерише да иако је за обе димензије карактеристичан доживљај снажних емоција (нпр.…”

“…A review of the first decade of research on the Dark Triad revealed the link that this constellation shares with antisocial behaviour (Furnham, Richards & Paulhus, 2013). Studies conducted on sample groups of children and adolescents have shown that the tendency towards delinquency and behaviour problems are more common, serious, and diverse in young individuals with high scores on psychopathy (Frick & White, 2008;Muris, Meesters & Timmermans, 2013;Pechorro, DeLisi, Gonçalves, Braga & Maroco, 2022;van Baardewijk, Stegge, Bushman & Vermeiren, 2009). Apart from psychopathy, narcissism has shown significant relations with behaviour problems and aggression (Barry, Frick, Adler & Grafeman, 2007;Barry, Grafeman, Adler & Pickard, 2007;Fanti & Kimonis, 2012;Lau & Marsee, 2013).…”

“…In a study that explored the Dark Triad traits in a sample of adolescents at risk, narcissism was linked to substance abuse (cigarettes and different kinds of drugs), Machiavellianism was linked to the use of alcohol, while psychopathy was not related to substance abuse (Pechorro, Jonason, Raposo & Maroco, 2021). While some studies have reported links between Machiavellianism and narcissism and delinquent behaviour (Lau & Marsee, 2013;Palma, Pechorro, Prather, Matavelli, Correia & Jesus, 2021;, others suggested that these traits do not contribute to the explanation of antisocial behaviour (Chabrol et al, 2009;Muris, Meesters & Timmermans, 2013;Palma, Pechorro, Nunes, Correia & Jesus, 2020;Pechorro, DeLisi, Gonçalves, Braga & Maroco, 2022). Both traits are associated with emotional dysregulation, and narcissism is also linked to behavioural dysregulation.…”

Is the link between the Dark Tetrad and the acceptance of sexual violence mediated by sexual machismo?

“…The Dark Tetrad, usually higher in men than in women (for a review, see Muris et al, 2017), is a cluster of four personality traits characterized by their social aversiveness and undesirability (Book et al, 2016; Jonason et al, 2017), emotional coldness (e.g., Pajevic et al, 2018), a sense of ruthlessness in the pursuit of self‐interest (Pechorro et al, 2022), a tendency for callous exploitation or manipulation of others (e.g., Marcus et al, 2018; Paulhus et al, 2021), as well as a negative impact on interpersonal relationships (e.g., Vize et al, 2018): narcissism, psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and sadism. These four traits have vastly been found to be intercorrelated (e.g., Paulhus et al, 2021; Vernon et al, 2008; for reviews, see Muris et al, 2017; Schreiber & Marcus, 2020), but each trait has its own distinctive features.…”