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Revenge in Couple Relationships and Their Relation to the Dark Triad

Author

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  • Miguel Clemente

    (Department of Psychology, Research Group in Criminology, Legal Psychology and Penal Justice, Universidade da Coruna, 15071 A Coruna, Spain)

  • Pablo Espinosa

    (Department of Psychology, Research Group in Criminology, Legal Psychology and Penal Justice, Universidade da Coruna, 15071 A Coruna, Spain)

Abstract

Background: This research examines how, when a romantic partner commits a perceived transgression that leads to couple break up, vengeful reactions are predicted by the type of transgression and the Dark Triad of personality. Methods: An incidental sample of 2142 participants, half male and half female aged 18 to 70, completed a questionnaire developed by the authors to assess how they had reacted after being the perceived victims of a transgression committed by their partner and a measure of the Dark Triad. Results: Results show half of the people who feel as though they are victims of a partner transgression show revenge reactions. These reactions are more emotional than rational and do not usually anticipate their consequences or success. Moreover, revenge is related primarily to psychopathy and to a lesser extent to Machiavellianism. Psychopathy is the best predictor for revenge thoughts and actions, whereas narcissism does not predict revenge when controlling for other dark traits. Conclusions: This study contributes to the explanation of revenge reactions in couple relationships in relation to the type of transgression perceived and the Dark Triad. Conflicts that arise out of revenge may have long-lasting consequences for both the perceived aggressor and victim, and our results may be useful for assessing risks, monitoring, and preventing negative consequences for partners or ex-partners.

Suggested Citation

  • Miguel Clemente & Pablo Espinosa, 2021. "Revenge in Couple Relationships and Their Relation to the Dark Triad," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-12, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:14:p:7653-:d:596795
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Miguel Clemente & Dolores Padilla-Racero & Pablo Espinosa, 2019. "Revenge among Parents Who Have Broken up Their Relationship through Family Law Courts: Its Dimensions and Measurement Proposal," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-12, December.
    2. Miguel Clemente & Dolores Padilla-Racero & Pablo Espinosa, 2020. "The Dark Triad and the Detection of Parental Judicial Manipulators. Development of a Judicial Manipulation Scale," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(8), pages 1-12, April.
    3. Pauline Grosjean, 2014. "A History Of Violence: The Culture Of Honor And Homicide In The Us South," Journal of the European Economic Association, European Economic Association, vol. 12(5), pages 1285-1316, October.
    4. Clemente, Miguel & Padilla-Racero, Dolores, 2021. "Obey the justice system or protect children? The moral dilemma posed by false parental alienation syndrome," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Fatima Firdevs Adam Karduz & Hakan Saricam, 2018. "The Relationships between Positivity, Forgiveness, Happiness, and Revenge," Revista romaneasca pentru educatie multidimensionala - Journal for Multidimensional Education, Editura Lumen, Department of Economics, vol. 10(4), pages 1-22, December.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

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