DARK TETRAD AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTRESS AMONG MALE VIOLENT OFFENDERS AND MEN FROM THE GENERAL POPULATION

Abstract

The first aim of this study was to explore differences between male violent offenders and men from the general populations in Dark Tetrad traits and psychological distress and the second aim was to explore relationships between Dark Tetrad traits and psychological distress including a moderation role of membership of population. The sample included 142 male violent offenders (M = 40.73, SD = 11.43) convicted to murder, severe murder, and rape, and 573 males from the general population i Serbia (non-offenders, M = 41.71, SD = 15.11). Serbian adaptations of the Short Dark Triad (SD3), Comprehensive Assessment of Sadistic Tendencies (CAST), and Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation - Outcome Measure (CORE-OM) were used. Results of logistic regression showed that lower narcissism and higher psychopathy and poor functioning contribute to the prediction of the offenders group compared to non-offenders. Furthermore, narcissism in negative and psychopathy and physical sadism in positive direction were the only significant predictors of various aspects of psychological distress. Moreover, moderation analyses showed that physical sadism was significantly correlated with risk behaviors in the general population, but not in violent offenders. Overall, results indicated a very similar relationship between dark traits and psychological distress in both populations. Keywords: Dark Tetrad, Dark Triad, psychological distress, violent offenders, prison population