Dark side of health-predicting health behaviors and diseases with the Dark Triad traits

• Published in: Journal of public health Vol. 29; no. 2; pp. 275 - 284
• Main Authors: Malesza, Marta, Kaczmarek, Magdalena Claudia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.04.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Antisocial personality disorder; Correlation analysis; Epidemiology; Health; Health behavior; Health Promotion and Disease Prevention; Impulsive behavior; Indicators; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Narcissism; Original Article; Personality; Predictions; Psychopathy; Public Health; Sampling methods; Social behavior; Health behaviors; Impulsivity; Dark Triad; Diseases
• ISSN: 2198-1833; 1613-2238
• DOI: 10.1007/s10389-019-01129-6

Aim Numerous studies have documented the effects of personality on both health-related behaviors and diseases. However, which Dark Triad traits are most relevant to health, and the precise magnitude of their effects, is inconsistent across studies. The present study used a large Internet sample to replicate and extend the relations between the Dark Triad and numerous health-related behaviors and diseases. Subjects and methods The sample was composed of 3649 adults. Participants completed an inventory regarding general health behaviors as well as different measures of specified health diseases. The current study also employed the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory and three measures of the Dark Triad traits. Results High psychopathy predicted almost all health behaviors and diseases, indicating that individuals who are less responsible and less self-controlled tend to report poorer health. Second, the present study revealed a weaker correlation between Machiavellianism and health indicators than for psychopathy. Finally, the results also support our assumption that narcissism is not only only a positive, but also a negative predictor of health indicators and diseases. Conclusion Despite conceptual similarities among psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism, the three measures examined in this study are non-redundant and demonstrate significant incremental prediction of health indicators beyond gender, age and impulsivity.