Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Some Youths have a Gloomy Side: Correlates of the Dark Triad Personality Traits in Non-Clinical Adolescents

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Child Psychiatry & Human Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This cross-sectional study examined the Dark Triad personality traits and their correlates in non-clinical youths aged 12–18 years (N = 117). Child- and parent-report data were obtained on Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy as well as on Big Five personality factors and symptoms of aggression and delinquency. Results indicated that especially Machiavellianism and psychopathy were in a theoretically meaningful way related to Big Five factors: that is, both traits were associated with lower levels of agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness/intellect, and higher levels of emotional instability. Further, Machiavellianism and psychopathy also emerged as significant and unique correlates of symptoms of aggression and delinquency, which further underlines the importance of these Dark Triad traits in the pathogenesis of disruptive behavior problems in youths.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Paulhus DL, Williams KM (2002) The Dark Triad of personality: narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. J Res Pers 36:556–563

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Jakobwitz S, Egan V (2006) The Dark Triad and normal personality traits. Pers Individ Diff 40:331–339

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Vernon PA, Villani VC, Vickers LC, Aitken Harris J (2008) A behavioral genetic investigation of the Dark Triad and the Big 5. Pers Individ Diff 44:445–452

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Veselka L, Aitken Schermer J, Vernon PA (2012) The Dark Triad and an expanded framework of personality. Pers Individ Diff 53:417–425

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Jonason PK, Slomski S, Partyka J (2012) The Dark Triad at work: how toxic employees get their way. Pers Individ Diff 52:449–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Crysel LC, Crosier BS, Webster GD (2013) The Dark Triad and risk behaviour. Pers Individ Diff 54:35–40

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Jonason PK, Tost J (2010) I just cannot control myself: the Dark Triad and self-control. Pers Individ Diff 49:611–615

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Veselka L, Aitken Schermer J, Martin RA, Vernon PA (2010) Relations between humor styles and the Dark Triad traits of personality. Pers Individ Diff 48:772–774

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Baughman HM, Dearing S, Giammarco E, Vernon PA (2012) Relationships between bullying behaviours and the Dark Triad: a study with adults. Pers Individ Diff 52:571–575

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Jonason PK, Li NP, Buss DM (2010) The costs and benefits of the Dark Triad: implications for mate poaching and mate retention tactics. Pers Individ Diff 48:373–378

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Jonason PK, Li NP, Webster GD, Schmitt DP (2009) The Dark Triad: facilitating a short-term mating strategy in men. Eur J Pers 23:5–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Jonason PK, Kavanagh P (2010) The dark side of love: love styles and the Dark Triad. Pers Individ Diff 49:606–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Hodson G, Hogg SM, MacInnis CC (2009) The role of “dark personalities” (narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy), Big Five personality factors, and ideology in explaining prejudice. J Res Pers 43:686–690

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Hare RD (1996) Psychopathy. A clinical construct whose time has come. Crim Justice Behav 23:25–54

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Salekin RT, Rogers R, Sewell KW (1996) A review and meta-analysis of the psychopathy checklist-revised: predictive validity of dangerousness. Clin Psychol: Sci Prac 3:203–215

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Bushman BJ, Baumeister RF (1998) Threatened egotism, narcissism, self-esteem, and direct and displaced aggression: does self-love or self-hate lead to violence? J Pers Soc Psychol 75:219–229

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. McHoskey JW, Worzel W, Szyarto C (1998) Machiavellianism and psychopathy. J Pers Soc Psychol 74:192–210

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Frick PJ, Cornell AH, Barry CT, Bodin SD, Dane HE (2003) Callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems in the prediction of conduct problem severity, aggression, and self-report of delinquency. J Abn Child Psychol 31:457–470

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Frick PJ, Ellis ML (1999) Callous-unemotional traits and subtypes of conduct disorder. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 2:149–168

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Frick PJ (2009) Extending the construct of psychopathy to youth: implications for understanding, diagnosing, and treating anti-social children and adolescents. Can J Psychiatry 54:803–812

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Ribeiro da Silva D, Rijo D, Salekin RT (2012) Child and adolescent psychopathy: a state-of-the-art reflection on the construct and etiological theories. J Crim Justice 40:269–277

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Chabrol H, Van Leeuwen N, Rodgers R, Séjourné N (2009) Contributions of psychopathic, narcissistic, Machiavellian, and sadistic personality traits to juvenile delinquency. Pers Individ Diff 47:734–739

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Kerig PK, Stellwagen KK (2010) Roles of callous-unemotional traits, narcissism, and Machiavellianism in childhood aggression. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 32:343–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Jonason PK, Webster GD (2010) The dirty dozen: a concise measure of the Dark Triad. Psychol Assess 22:420–432

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Barbaranelli C, Caprara GV, Rabasca A, Pastorelli C (2003) A questionnaire for measuring the big five in late childhood. Pers Individ Diff 34:645–664

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Barbaranelli C, Fida R, Paciello M, Giunta LD, Caprara GV (2008) Assessing personality in early adolescence through self-report and other-ratings a multitrait-multimethod analysis of the BFQ-C. Pers Individ Diff 44:876–886

    Article  Google Scholar 

  27. Muris P, Meesters C, Diederen R (2005) Psychometric properties of the big five questionnaire for children (BFQ-C) in a Dutch sample of young adolescents. Pers Individ Diff 38:1757–1769

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Brown K, Atkins MS, Osborne ML, Milnamow M (1996) A revised teacher rating scale for reactive and proactive aggression. J Abn Child Psychol 24:473–480

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Meesters C, Muris P, Van Rooijen B (2007) Relations of neuroticism and attentional control with symptoms of anxiety and aggression in non-clinical children. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 29:149–158

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Roelofs J, Meesters C, Ter Huurne M, Bamelis L, Muris P (2006) On the links between attachment style, parental rearing behaviors, and internalizing and externalizing problems in non-clinical children. J Child Fam Stud 15:319–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Korchnakova K (2007) Further evidence for the psychometric properties of the Child Rating scale for Aggression. Unpublished master thesis, Erasmus University Rotterdam

  32. Vincken M, Eijkelenboom A, Muris P, Meesters C (2004) ‘Zelfcontrole’: Een effectief interventie-programma voor kinderen met agressief en oppositioneel gedrag (Self-control. An effective intervention program for children with aggressive and oppositional behavior problems). Kind Adolesc Prak 3:17–23

    Google Scholar 

  33. Achenbach TM, Rescorla LA (2000) Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms & profiles. University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, & Families, Burlington

    Google Scholar 

  34. Achenbach TM, Becker A, Döpfner M, Heiervang E, Roessner V, Steinhausen H, Rothenberger A (2008) Multicultural assessment of child and adolescent psychopatholgy with ASEBA and SDQ instruments: research findings, applications, and future directions. J Child Psychol Psychiatry 49:251–275

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Achenbach TM, McConaughy SH, Howell CT (1987) Child/adolescent behavioral and emotional problems: implications of cross-informant correlations for situational specificity. Psychol Bull 101:213–232

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  36. Jones SE, Miller JD, Lynam DR (2011) Personality, antisocial behavior, and aggression: a meta-analytic review. J Crim Justice 39:329–337

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Frick PJ, Moffitt TE (2010) A proposal to the DSM-V childhood disorders and the ADHD and disruptive behavior disorders work groups to include a specifier to the diagnosis of conduct disorder based on the presence of callous-unemotional traits. American Psychiatric Association, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  38. Matthews G, Deary IJ, Whiteman MC (2003) Personality traits. Cambridge University Press, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  39. DeLisi M (2009) Psychopathy is the unified theory of crime. Youth Violence Juv Justice 7:256–273

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, P.O. Box 616, 6200 MD, Maastricht, The Netherlands

    Peter Muris, Cor Meesters & Anke Timmermans

Authors
  1. Peter Muris
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cor Meesters
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Anke Timmermans
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Peter Muris.

Appendix

Appendix

The dirty dozen for youth (DD-Y), original items in parentheses

1. I am insensitive, things don’t touch me (P)

(I am callous and insensitive)

2. I have used others towards my own end (M)

(I have exploited others towards my own end)

3. I have lied and cheated to get my way (M)

(I have used deceit or lied to get my way)

4. If I did something wrong, I feel little remorse (P)

(I lack remorse)

5. I want others to pay attention to me (N)

(I want others to pay attention to me)

6. I tell others how good and nice they are, just to get my way (M)

(I use flattery to get my way)

7. I want that others think that I am important (N)

(I want others to admire me)

8. I am cynical and mocking towards others (P)

(I am cynical)

9. I try to influence others to get my way (M)

(I manipulate other to get my own way)

10. I expect favors from others and that they treat me in a special way (N)

(I expect special favors from others)

11. I want others to admire me (N)

(I want others to admire me)

12. I don’t care whether my behavior is right or wrong (P)

(I am unconcerned with the morality of my actions)

  1. M machiavellianism; P psychopathy; N narcissism

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Muris, P., Meesters, C. & Timmermans, A. Some Youths have a Gloomy Side: Correlates of the Dark Triad Personality Traits in Non-Clinical Adolescents. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 44, 658–665 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-013-0359-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-013-0359-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation