Unmasking the Nexus between Maladaptive Alcohol use and Dark Triad Personality Traits

Abstract

As young adults enter college, many seem to increase their alcohol consumption. Whether this behavior change is solely due to environmental factors, such as peer pressure or lack of supervision, has not been fully separated from developing or emerging intrapersonal traits that might facilitate the behavior. This trend underscores the importance of investigating the relationship between excessive drinking habits and deviant personality traits. This study, aimed at investigating the relationship between "dark triad" personality traits and harmful alcohol behaviors, may provide valuable insights into the social cultures on college campuses that promote maladaptive drinking habits. Based on the trait theory of personality, we hypothesized that dark triad traits would be associated with negative alcohol behaviors. To test our hypothesis, we administered the Young Adult Alcohol Consequences Questionnaire (YAACQ) and Short Dark Triad scale (SD3) to 800 participants. After cleaning the data, we analyzed 799 responses to study measures and demographic items. Our findings revealed that, of the dark personality traits, Machiavellianism and psychopathy had small positive associations with harmful alcohol consumption. Moreover, we found that both personality and Greek life participation were significant predictors of alcohol misuse. This study may serve as a stepping-stone for future research into the interplay between the behavioral tendencies and cultural settings in which alcohol abuse occurs among college students. Thus, provides additional insight into a complex problem plaguing college communities.