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The Relationship between Dark Triad Personality Traits and Sexting Behaviors among Adolescents and Young Adults across 11 Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Mara Morelli

    (Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Flavio Urbini

    (Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Dora Bianchi

    (Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Roberto Baiocco

    (Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Elena Cattelino

    (Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Valle D’Aosta, 11100 Aosta, Italy)

  • Fiorenzo Laghi

    (Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy)

  • Piotr Sorokowski

    (Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, 50-527 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Michal Misiak

    (Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, 50-527 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Martyna Dziekan

    (Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, Adam Mickiewicz University, 60-658 Poznań, Poland)

  • Heather Hudson

    (Department of Health Sciences, University of Central Arkansas, Conway, AR 72035, USA)

  • Alexandra Marshall

    (College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR 72205, USA)

  • Thanh Truc T. Nguyen

    (College of Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA)

  • Lauren Mark

    (College of Education, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA)

  • Kamil Kopecky

    (Centre for Prevention of Risky Virtual Communication, Palacky University Olomouc, 77900 Olomouc, Czech Republic)

  • René Szotkowski

    (Centre for Prevention of Risky Virtual Communication, Palacky University Olomouc, 77900 Olomouc, Czech Republic)

  • Ezgi Toplu Demirtaş

    (Psychological Counseling and Guidance, MEF University, Istanbul 34396, Turkey)

  • Joris Van Ouytsel

    (Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium
    Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA)

  • Koen Ponnet

    (Department of Communication Sciences, imec-mict-Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Michel Walrave

    (Department of Communication Studies, University of Antwerp, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium)

  • Tingshao Zhu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100864, China)

  • Ya Chen

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100864, China)

  • Nan Zhao

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100864, China)

  • Xiaoqian Liu

    (Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100864, China)

  • Alexander Voiskounsky

    (Department of General Psychology, Lomonosow Moscow State University, 101000 Moscow, Russia)

  • Nataliya Bogacheva

    (Department of Pedagogy and Medical Psychology, Sechenov University, 101000 Moscow, Russia)

  • Maria Ioannou

    (Department of Psychology, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK)

  • John Synnott

    (Department of Psychology, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK)

  • Kalliopi Tzani-Pepelasi

    (Department of Psychology, University of Huddersfield, Huddersfield HD1 3DH, UK)

  • Vimala Balakrishnan

    (Department of Information System, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia)

  • Moses Okumu

    (School of Social Work, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA)

  • Eusebius Small

    (School of Social Work, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA)

  • Silviya Pavlova Nikolova

    (Department of Social Medicine and Healthcare Organization, Medical University-Varna, 9000 Varna, Bulgaria)

  • Michelle Drouin

    (Department of Psychology, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN 46805, USA)

  • Antonio Chirumbolo

    (Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, Italy)

Abstract

Background: Sexting is an increasingly common phenomenon among adolescents and young adults. Some studies have investigated the role of personality traits in different sexting behaviors within mainstream personality taxonomies like Big Five and HEXACO. However, very few studies have investigated the role of maladaptive personality factors in sexting. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between Dark Triad Personality Traits and experimental (i.e., sharing own sexts), risky (i.e., sexting under substance use and with strangers), and aggravated sexting (i.e., non-consensual sexting and sexting under pressure) across 11 countries. Methods: An online survey was completed by 6093 participants (Mage = 20.35; SDage = 3.63) from 11 different countries which covered four continents (Europe, Asia, Africa, and America). Participants completed the Sexting Behaviors Questionnaire and the 12-item Dark Triad Dirty Dozen scale. Results: Hierarchical regression analyses showed that sharing own sexts was positively predicted by Machiavellianism and Narcissism. Both risky and aggravated sexting were positively predicted by Machiavellianism and Psychopathy. Conclusions: The present study provided empirical evidence that different sexting behaviors were predicted by Dark Triad Personality Traits, showing a relevant role of Machiavellianism in all kinds of investigated sexting behaviors. Research, clinical, and education implications for prevention programs are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Mara Morelli & Flavio Urbini & Dora Bianchi & Roberto Baiocco & Elena Cattelino & Fiorenzo Laghi & Piotr Sorokowski & Michal Misiak & Martyna Dziekan & Heather Hudson & Alexandra Marshall & Thanh Truc, 2021. "The Relationship between Dark Triad Personality Traits and Sexting Behaviors among Adolescents and Young Adults across 11 Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-25, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:5:p:2526-:d:510068
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cristian Molla Esparza & Pablo Nájera & Emelina López-González & Josep-Maria Losilla, 2020. "Development and Validation of the Adolescent Sexting Scale (A-SextS) with a Spanish Sample," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-22, October.
    2. Cristian Molla-Esparza & Josep-Maria Losilla & Emelina López-González, 2020. "Prevalence of sending, receiving and forwarding sexts among youths: A three-level meta-analysis," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(12), pages 1-16, December.
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    Cited by:

    1. Alessandra Ragona & Martina Mesce & Silvia Cimino & Luca Cerniglia, 2023. "Motivations, Behaviors and Expectancies of Sexting: The Role of Defensive Strategies and Social Media Addiction in a Sample of Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-14, January.
    2. Małgorzata Dębska & Paweł Dębski & Jacek Polechoński & Michał Rozpara & Rajmund Tomik, 2021. "The Dark Triad of Personality in the Context of Health Behaviors: Ally or Enemy?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-9, April.

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