Bumbling in the Dark: The Effect of the Dark Triad, Online Dating, and Gender on Risky Sexual Behaviors
Year: 2018
Type: dissertation
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The Dark Triad is used to describe three distinct yet related personality traits: psychopathy, narcissism, and Machiavellianism, which share several characteristics such as manipulation, exploitation, emotional coldness, and lack of empathy. The Dark Triad has been associated with several negative behaviors including infidelity and risky sexual behavior, however most of the current research focuses only on males high on the Dark Triad traits. The present study seeks to expand the literature by studying how the Dark Triad traits and online dating usage relate to the composite score of risky sexual behaviors. Further, we seek to examine if gender moderates this relationship. Participants consist of a community sample recruited from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Participants were given an online survey that collected demographic information (age, gender, race, and sexual orientation), and measured the levels of the Dark Triad traits, online dating usage, and risky sexual behaviors. Results indicated that the Dark Triad traits and online dating were associated with more risky sexual behaviors. The implications will be discussed.
Author: Rebecca Boudreau
Language: English
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Gender equality
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2947471648