Testing Measurement Invariance of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen in a Belgian Adult Sample

Abstract

The Dirty Dozen (Jonason & Webster, 2010) is a frequently used concise version of the Dark Triad to measure three socially aversive personality traits: Machiavellianism, psychopathy and, narcissism. The present study has examined measurement invariance in a sample of Belgian adults. The present study aims to assess measurement invariance of the Dutch version of the Dirty Dozen measure across gender in a large city-based representative adult sample in Belgium (N = 1587). Multi-group firstorder confirmatory factor analysis for categorical indicators was utilized. In addition, unique associations between Dirty Dozen traits, trait self-control and, acceptance of illegitimate norms were examined in a series of structural equation models. Results indicated that the internal consistency of the Dirty Dozen subscales was good for Machiavellianism (α = 0.80) and narcissism (α = 0.80), but modest for psychopathy (α = 0.64). The hypothesized three correlated factors model with separate factors for Machiavellianism, psychopathy and, narcissism provided a poor fit for men and women. Invariance testing across gender showed evidence for weak invariance only, indicating that the underlying latent factors are measured the same way with the same metric in the two populations. However, we were not able to establish strong measurement invariance. Observed group differences should be interpreted with caution. Furthermore, Machiavellianism and psychopathy were strongly associated with trait self-control in both men and women. Strong correlations were found between acceptance of illegitimate norms and Dirty Dozen traits, Machiavellianism and, psychopathy, but not with narcissism.

Malevolent Monitoring: Dark Triad Traits, Cyber Dating Abuse, and the Instrumental Role of Self-Control

“…Several scholars have raised concerns about the use of the Dirty Dozen instrument to measure the DTT, as it would not sufficiently cover the constructs of interest (e.g., Miller et al, 2012). On the other hand, multiple studies have shown that the structure of the Dirty Dozen scale is stable across different cultural contexts and populations, and the scale appears to offer a reasonable trade-off between efficiency and accuracy (De Buck et al, 2021; Rogoza et al, 2021). To account for these limitations in our measures, future research should further disentangle the processes between self-control, DTT, and CDA perpetration by using more elaborate measurements and by accounting for the multidimensional nature of the study constructs.…”

Young Adults’ Online and In-Person Sexual Harassment Experiences in Romantic Relationships: Exploring the Role of Relationship Type and Dark Triad Personality Traits

“…Supported by the three factor solution found in our sample, we decided to approach the Dark Triad as separate traits as this allowed us to pinpoint detailed differences in how the different strategies these traits represent may be linked to sexual harassment experiences in different relationship types. We chose the Dirty Dozen questionnaire to measure the Dark Triad traits, as its structure appears to be stable across different cultural contexts and populations and seems to provide a reasonable trade-off between efficiency and accuracy (De Buck et al, 2021; Rogoza et al, 2021). Lastly, we argue that a “separatist” approach to these three traits is further justified by our finding that different dark personality traits were uniquely linked to sexual harassment experiences depending on the type of relationship.…”