How “Dark” is the Dark Triad in Romantic Relationships: A Meta-Analytic Review of the Relationship between the Dark Triad and Infidelity Koliko je „mračna“mračna trijada u romantičnim vezama: metaanaliza odnosa između mračne trijade i neverstva

Ataman A., YALÇINKAYA ALKAR Ö.

Psihologija, cilt.58, sa.4, ss.385-405, 2025 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 58 Sayı: 4
  • Basım Tarihi: 2025
  • Doi Numarası: 10.2298/psi230920015a
  • Dergi Adı: Psihologija
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Central & Eastern European Academic Source (CEEAS), Psycinfo, Directory of Open Access Journals
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.385-405
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Dark Triad, infidelity, narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

One of the fundamental aspects of romantic relationships is the mutual understanding of fidelity. The occurrence of infidelity in romantic relationships has been demonstrated to have a detrimental impact on the relationship itself and on the partners involved. A substantial body of scientific literature has been devoted to the examination of the correlates and predictors of infidelity. Within this context, the Dark Triad has been supported by several studies as playing an important role in infidelity. Nevertheless, the existing literature on the relationship between dark personality traits and infidelity in romantic relationships presents an inconclusive picture. The current study, therefore, aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of the studies that investigated the relationships between the dark traits and infidelity. This meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines and thus 11 scientific articles published in peer-reviewed journals were included. The results of the meta-analysis revealed statistically significant and positive correlations of narcissism (r =.132), Machiavellianism (r =.225), and psychopathy (r =.254) with infidelity behaviour. The possible implications and limitations of the present review were discussed.