The dark side of personality and its somatic expression: Relationship between the Dark Triad, psychosomatic symptoms and somatosensory amplification

The Dark Triad is characterized by emotional dysregulation, deficits in self-understanding and interpersonal functioning, as well as maladaptive defense mechanisms. While these traits have been linked to diverse health outcomes, their role in the psychosomatic domain remains limited, and the relationships explored remain unclear. This research examines the associations between the Dark Triad traits, psychosomatic symptoms, and somatosensory amplification in a student population (N = 296). While all Dark Triad traits were associated with somatosensory amplification, only psychopathy and Machiavellianism were linked to psychosomatic symptoms. Among the Dark Triad traits, Machiavellianism was the most prominent predictor in both cases. Somatosensory amplification emerged as a significant predictor of psychosomatic symptoms. Finally, the Sobel test indicated that somatosensory amplification mediates the association between Machiavellianism and psychopathy with psychosomatic symptoms. The results showed that the Dark Triad traits may play a significant role in predicting heightened somatic sensitivity and psychosomatic symptoms, with narcissism being excluded from the latter association; therefore, further research in this regard is required.