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Childhood adversity and malevolent creativity in college students: Resilience and the Dark Triad as mediators

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: To explore the relationships among childhood adversity, malevolent creativity, resilience, and the Dark Triad personality traits, we conducted a survey with 1,319 college students. Respondents completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, the Malevolent Creativity Behavior Scale, the Short Dark Triad Scale, and the Connor???Davidson Resilience Scale. Results showed that childhood adversity was negatively correlated with resilience and positively correlated with malevolent creativity and the Dark Triad traits. Mediation analysis revealed no direct effect of childhood adversity on malevolent creativity. Instead, resilience and the Dark Triad acted as both independent and chain mediators of this relationship. Thus, by enhancing psychological resilience and decreasing the likelihood of developing maladaptive personality traits, educators can reduce the risk of malevolent creativity among individuals who have experienced childhood adversity.

Source: Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal

DOI: 10.2224/sbp.15297

Authors: Junru Wang, Weijia Yan, Jia Xu, Shujie Zheng, Xiao Guan, Minghao Zhang

Institutions: Ludong University, Shandong Business Institute, Yantai City College of Science and Technology, Yantai University

Language: English

Topic: Personality Traits and Psychology

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: diamond

OpenAlex ID: W7127269891

FWCI:

Cites: 1

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