The Short Dark Triad (SD3): Adaptation and Psychometrics among At-Risk Male and Female Youths

ABSTRACT

The dark triad is a term used to describe a constellation of three socially harmful personality traits: Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism. The main aim of the present study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Short Dark Triad (SD3) scale, a brief measure of the dark triad, among a sample (N = 412) of male (n = 200) and female (n = 212) at-risk Portuguese youths. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed the three-factor structure of the SD3 obtained an adequate fit, and measurement invariance across gender was demonstrated, although two items per dimension had to be removed. The Portuguese version of the SD3 scale demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties, specifically the properties of internal consistency, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and known-groups validity, which overall justifies its use among this population. Findings are discussed in terms of the use of the SD3 scale with male and female at-risk youths.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• Short Dark Triad
• youth
• validation

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology: [SFRH/BPD/86666/2012] and [UID/SOC/04020/2013].

Notes on contributors

Pedro Pechorro

PEDRO PECHORRO is a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Research in Psychology at the University of Minho and is a member of the PsyAssessmentLab at the University of Coimbra. His research interests include juvenile delinquency, psychopathy, developmental criminology, and psychometrics.

Vanessa Caramelo

VANESSA CARAMELO is a forensic psychologist. Her primary research interests include the dark triad of personality, psychopathy, and domestic violence.

João Pedro Oliveira

JOÃO PEDRO OLIVEIRA is an assistant professor at Lusófona University of Humanities and Technologies in Lisbon. His research interests include personality assessment, psychopathy, clinical and forensic psychology, and psychometrics.

Cristina Nunes

CRISTINA NUNES is an associate professor with Habilitation at Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences and member of the Research Centre for Spatial and Organizational Dynamics in University of Algarve. Research interests: Development and well-being in child and adolescents.

Shelby R. Curtis

SHELBY R. CURTIS is a graduate student in Legal Psychology at the University of Texas at El Paso. Her primary research interests include the dark triad of personality, persuasion and manipulation, and the intersection of individual differences and persuasion tactics and efficacy.

Daniel N. Jones

DANIEL N. JONES is currently an assistant professor in the area of Legal Psychology at the University of Texas, El Paso. Dr. Jones received his Ph.D. in Social/Personality Psychology from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver in 2011. His research focuses on differences among the dark triad of personality, with a particular focus on cyber-security, fraud, and online deception.