Functional and dysfunctional impulsivity mediates the relationships between ‘Dark Triad’ traits and cyberbullying perpetration

IF 1.1 4区医学 Q3 CRIMINOLOGY & PENOLOGY

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Pub Date : 2024-01-19 DOI:10.1002/cbm.2321

Miriam Sang-Ah Park, Joël Billieux, Sanjana Raj, Mei Chee Lee, Dianne Shaneeta Geoffrey, Filip Nuyens

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Abstract

Background

Cyberbullying perpetration and victimisation have been associated with psychological distress, including depression and suicidal ideation. Prior studies have shown that the ‘Dark Triad’ personality traits (narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy) are associated with greater likelihood of perpetration, yet there is a research gap regarding potential mediators of this relationship.

Aims

To test whether functional and dysfunctional impulsivity act as mediators between Dark Triad traits and cyberbullying perpetration.

Methods

A cross-sectional online study was conducted, in which a sample of 141 university students (63% male) from Malaysia were recruited by online and local poster advertising inviting them to complete a questionnaire containing a series of psychometric scales, including measures of ‘Dark Triad’ personality traits, impulsivity and cyberbullying perpetration.

Results

A relationship between cyberbullying perpetration and higher psychopathy scale scores was mediated by dysfunctional, but not functional, impulsivity. The relationship between cyberbullying and narcissism scores was not mediated by impulsivity. Higher Machiavellianism scores were similarly associated with cyberbullying, but there was no correlation at all between Machiavellianism and impulsivity scores.

Conclusion

Our findings add to the literature by showing that not only Dark Triad scale scores are associated with cyberbullying, but that difficulty in refraining from or controlling impulsive behaviours (dysfunctional impulsivity) may be a key component in this relationship. Given that our sample was of generally well-functioning people, our findings may not extend to those with serious cyberbullying problems. Yet, they provide avenues for identifying people at risk of such behaviours before problems become well-established and call for more nuanced approaches towards understanding and intervening with problematic cyberbullying.

Abstract Image

查看原文本刊更多论文

功能性和功能失调性冲动是 "黑暗三合会 "特征与网络欺凌行为之间关系的中介。

背景：网络欺凌的实施和受害与心理困扰（包括抑郁和自杀倾向）有关。先前的研究表明，"黑暗三合会 "人格特质（自恋、马基雅维利主义和心理变态）与更大的犯罪可能性相关，但关于这种关系的潜在中介因素的研究还存在空白。目的：测试功能性冲动和功能障碍冲动是否是 "黑暗三合会 "人格特质与网络欺凌犯罪之间的中介因素：方法：我们进行了一项横断面在线研究，通过在线和本地海报广告招募了马来西亚的141名大学生（63%为男性），邀请他们填写一份包含一系列心理测量量表的调查问卷，其中包括 "黑暗三合会 "人格特质、冲动性和网络欺凌行为的测量：网络欺凌行为与较高的心理变态量表得分之间的关系是由功能障碍而非功能性冲动所中介的。网络欺凌与自恋评分之间的关系不以冲动为中介。较高的马基雅维利主义得分同样与网络欺凌有关，但马基雅维利主义与冲动性得分之间没有任何相关性：我们的研究结果表明，不仅 "黑暗三联征 "量表得分与网络欺凌有关，而且难以克制或控制冲动行为（机能障碍性冲动）也可能是这种关系的关键因素，从而为相关文献增添了新的内容。鉴于我们的样本是一般功能良好的人，我们的研究结果可能不会延伸到那些有严重网络欺凌问题的人。然而，这些研究结果为在问题形成之前识别有此类行为风险的人群提供了途径，并呼吁采取更细致的方法来理解和干预有问题的网络欺凌行为。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Criminal Behaviour and Mental Health Multiple-

CiteScore

1.60

自引率

0.00%

发文量

期刊介绍： Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health – CBMH – aims to publish original material on any aspect of the relationship between mental state and criminal behaviour. Thus, we are interested in mental mechanisms associated with offending, regardless of whether the individual concerned has a mental disorder or not. We are interested in factors that influence such relationships, and particularly welcome studies about pathways into and out of crime. These will include studies of normal and abnormal development, of mental disorder and how that may lead to offending for a subgroup of sufferers, together with information about factors which mediate such a relationship.

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