title: Revisiting the Structure of the Short Dark Triad.
abstract: In the past decade, extensive interest has been directed toward the Dark Triad (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy), popularly assessed by the Short Dark Triad (SD3). Nevertheless, relatively little research has been conducted on the SD3's factor structure. We investigated the SD3's psychometric properties in three studies with three independent samples, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses ( N1= 1,487; N2= 17,740; N3= 496). In all three studies, Machiavellianism and psychopathy items displayed large general factor loadings, and narcissism larger specific factor loadings. In subsequent studies, two- and three-factor models fitted the data similarly, with the best fitting model being a bifactor model with items from Machiavellianism and psychopathy modelled as one specific factor, and narcissism as a second specific factor. On this basis, we suggest that the SD3 does not seem to capture the different mental processes theorized to underlie the similar behaviors generated by Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Additionally, we recommend the use of a single SD3 composite score, and not subscale scores, as subscales contain small amounts of reliable variance beyond the general factor.
authors.affiliation: 1 University of Skövde, Sweden.|6 Network for Empowerment and Well-Being, Sweden.
authors.forename: Björn N
authors.initials: BN
authors.lastname: Persson
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|3 University West, Sweden.|6 Network for Empowerment and Well-Being, Sweden.
authors.forename: Petri J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Kajonius
authors.affiliation: 2 University of Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden.|4 Blekinge County Council, Karlskrona, Sweden.|5 Lund University, Lund, Sweden.|6 Network for Empowerment and Well-Being, Sweden.
authors.forename: Danilo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Garcia
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000987:Antisocial Personality Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008257:Machiavellianism; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009289:Narcissism; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dark Triad; Machiavellianism; SD3; factor analysis; narcissism; psychopathy