Dark Triad As A Predictor Of Bullying In High School Students

Abstract

The Dark Triad, which unites three socially averse personality traits (Machiavellianism, subclinical narcissism, and subclinical psychopathy) is associated with callousness, manipulation, violation of social norms, cynicism, lack of empathy, deceptiveness, exploitation of others. Studies of adults showed clear sex differences of the Dark triad traits, non-linear age differences, and links with violence and aggression. The present study investigated 1) sex and age differences in the Dark Triad traits, which are manifested in adolescence; 2) the relation between the Dark Triad and bullying. 325 high school students (aged 13–18) took part in the study of links between bullying and the Dark Triad. There were used two measures of the Dark Triad – The Short Dark Triad questionnaire (SD3) and The Portrait Dark Triad Questionnaire (PDTQ) and two measures of bulling – Bulling Scale and Victimization Scale. Significant differences were observed between boys and girls in bullying and psychopathy. Age-related differences within the given age range were not found either for the Dark Triad or for bullying. Correlation analysis identified significant relation between all Dark Triad indicators and bullying and relation between psychopathy and victimization. Stepwise regression analysis revealed different results for two measures of the Dark Triad: the main predictor of bulling was psychopathy when the dark traits were measured by SD3 and Machiavellianism when the dark traits were measured by PDTQ.