The Relationship between the Dark Triad Traits and Subjective and Psychological Well-being among Iranian Students

Narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism, collectively referred to as the Dark Triad, are sub-clinical personality traits that have been linked to a number of negative outcomes such as antisocial behaviors. This research examined how these Dark Triad personality traits differ in their relationships with well-being.

The Persian versions of the 27-item Short Dark Triad, the 5-item Satisfaction with Life Scale, the 4-item Subjective Happiness Scale, and the 42-item version of Ryff’s Scales of Psychological Well-being were administered to a sample of 228 Iranian university students. Using SPSS, Pearson correlation coefficient, and regression analyses were applied to analyze the data.

According to the results of this study, narcissism was positively related to both psychological and subjective well-being. On the other hand, psychopathy and Machiavellianism were related to lower levels of well-being. Narcissism was the strongest predictor of personal growth, self-acceptance, and happiness. Psychopathy was the strongest predictor of environmental mastery, positive relations with others, and purpose in life. Finally, Machiavellianism was the only predictor of autonomy.

This research, depicting the independent contributions of the Dark Triad personality traits to well-being, suggested that having a sub-clinical narcissistic personality is good for living a fully functioning life.