The Relationship Between Dark Triad and Quality of Family Interaction among Young Adults

The importance of family in shaping an individual’s personality is highly crucial. Thus, family dynamics and interactions play a vital role in the development of both positive and negative traits. This research explored the complexities of the relationship between the dark triad personality traits and the quality of family interactions among young adults. Each category of the dark triad that dealt with different elements of family dynamics was analyzed using a correlation design on data gathered from a sample of 300 young adults ages 18 to 25. The data was collected through the Short Dark Triad Scale for the assessment of dark triad traits and to measure the quality of family interactions; a modified version of the Family Assessment Device was used. For statistical analysis, Pearson product-moment correlation was applied. The inferential and descriptive data of this study revealed that higher levels of the dark triad personality traits- Machiavellianism, Psychopathy, and Narcissism- result in lower levels of family functioning and are negatively correlated with various elements of family interactions. Findings from this study can help bridge the existing literature gap and also elucidate the complex relationship between family interaction and personality development.