Dark Triad traits and depression symptoms in non-clinical populations: A pre-registered systematic review and meta-analysis

: Borráz-León Javier I.; Rantala, Markus J.; Cerda-Molina, Ana Lilia; Maestripieri, Dario

Publisher: Elsevier BV

: 2025

: Personality and Individual Differences

: 113417

: 247

: 0191-8869

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113417

: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2025.113417

The aim of this study was to quantitatively investigate the strength and shape of the relationship between Dark Triad personality traits—narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy—and the occurrence of depression symptoms in non-clinical populations. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 44 studies involving a total of 34,037 participants. Specific analyses focused on: grandiose narcissism and depression (k = 38, 47 samples); vulnerable narcissism and depression (k = 7, 7 samples); Machiavellianism and depression (k = 33, 38 samples), and psychopathy and depression (k = 31, 36 samples). The meta-analysis revealed 1) a negative non-significant association between grandiose narcissism and depression symptoms; 2) a large and positive association between vulnerable narcissism and depression; 3) a small-to-moderate and positive association between Machiavellianism and depression; and 4) a small-to-moderate and positive association between psychopathy and depression. These findings provide a deeper and more nuanced understanding of how Dark Triad personality traits are associated with depression, with potentially novel and important implications for the etiology and treatment of psychopathology.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.