Department of Developmental Psychology, Tilburg University, P.O. Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands.
J Abnorm Child Psychol. 2019 Aug;47(8):1351-1365. doi: 10.1007/s10802-019-00519-4.
Previous work has identified important correlational linkages between the dark triad of personality (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) and antisocial behavior in adolescence. However, little is known about the longitudinal associations between these personality characteristics and antisocial behavior, and the processes underlying these linkages. We hypothesized positive bidirectional associations between the dark triad and antisocial behavior, and that increases in moral disengagement would underlie these longitudinal associations. In the current study, we examined these hypotheses in 502 Dutch adolescents (51.8% boys, Mage = 13.57, SD = 1.07) across three annual waves. Path models showed that antisocial behavior was positively associated with relative increases in moral disengagement, a general dark personality factor, and Machiavellianism specifically, but not the other way around. These paths were only observed in boys and more pronounced during the first year of the study. Finally, antisocial behavior was partly indirectly associated to psychopathy across time via antisocial behavior and moral disengagement at a later time point. Together, these findings suggest that dark personality characteristics and moral disengagement development are more likely to be the result of changes in antisocial behavior than the other way around.
先前的研究已经确定了人格的黑暗三因素（马基雅维利主义、精神病态和自恋）与青少年反社会行为之间的重要相关联系。然而，人们对这些人格特征与反社会行为之间的纵向关联以及这些关联背后的过程知之甚少。我们假设黑暗三因素与反社会行为之间存在正向的双向关联，并且道德脱离会增加这些纵向关联。在目前的研究中，我们在三个年度波次中，对 502 名荷兰青少年（51.8%为男生，Mage=13.57，SD=1.07）进行了检验。路径模型显示，反社会行为与道德脱离的相对增加、一般的黑暗人格因素以及马基雅维利主义呈正相关，但反之则不然。这些路径仅在男生中观察到，并且在研究的第一年更为明显。最后，反社会行为通过后期的反社会行为和道德脱离，在时间上部分间接地与精神病态相关联。总之，这些发现表明，黑暗人格特征和道德脱离的发展更有可能是反社会行为变化的结果，而不是相反。
