Measuring the dark core: A Brazilian adaptation and comparison between the general population and incarcerated men

Abstract

Aversive or socially undesirable personality traits, characterized by harmful attitudes and behaviors, are gaining more momentum. In the present study, we aimed to describe the cross-cultural adaptation of the versions of the Dark Factor Measure to the Brazilian context and compare results between the general population and incarcerated men to provide insights into socially undesirable traits across different populations. Participated in our study 3229 people aged 18 to 78 years (M = 31.26; SD = 10.01) and 147 incarcerated men aged 18 to 53 years (M = 28.91; SD = 7.31). We used an Exploratory Bifactor Structural Equation Modeling (ESEM) to investigate the instrument adequacy. Our findings reveal that the Dark Factor Measure, with its three versions (i.e., D70, D35, D16), demonstrates satisfactory psychometric properties in Brazilian-Portuguese when using a bifactor and unidimensional model, supporting the reliable assessment of the dark core of personality. Additionally, our study highlights sex differences, with men displaying higher levels of dark personality traits when compared to women and incarcerated men showing much higher levels of darker traits when compared with men from the general population. In conclusion, our study sheds light on the unifying construct of the Dark Factor of Personality and its relevance in understanding aversive behaviors.