IntroductionThe Dark Triad (DT), including narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, represents the dark side of human nature and has been related to psychopathological symptoms (e.g., depression, anxiety, and stress). However, little is known about how the two constructs are related longitudinally. To fill this gap and to clarify the directionality between them, we conducted a longitudinal study.MethodsWe measured DT traits and psychopathological symptoms in a large sample of university students (NT1 = 1815) annually for 3 years. We implemented random intercept cross‐lagged panel models in analysis.ResultsNarcissism and psychopathological symptoms showed a reciprocal relationship at the within‐person level: greater narcissism preceded a decline in psychopathological symptoms, while more severe symptoms preceded a decrease in narcissism. Within the same individual, increases in the DT, particularly psychopathy and Machiavellianism, were linked to concurrent escalations in the symptoms. Additionally, all DT traits were positively correlated with psychopathological symptoms as stable differences between individuals.ConclusionsThis study constitutes an important step in clarifying the directionality between the DT and psychopathological symptoms, and advances our understanding of the interplay between these two constructs at both the between‐person and within‐person levels.

中文翻译：

---

黑暗三联征会引起精神病理学症状还是反之亦然？三波随机截距交叉滞后面板分析


简介黑暗三人格（DT），包括自恋、马基雅维利主义和精神病态，代表了人性的阴暗面，并与精神病理学症状（例如抑郁、焦虑和压力）有关。然而，人们对这两个结构如何纵向相关知之甚少。为了填补这一空白并阐明它们之间的方向性，我们进行了一项纵向研究。方法我们在三年内每年测量大量大学生样本（NT1=1815）的DT特征和精神病理症状。我们在分析中采用了随机截距交叉滞后面板模型。结果自恋和精神病理症状在人际层面上表现出相互关系：更大的自恋先于精神病理症状的下降，而更严重的症状先于自恋的下降。在同一个体中，DT 的增加，特别是精神病和马基雅维利主义，与症状的同时升级有关。此外，作为个体之间的稳定差异，所有 DT 特征都与精神病理学症状呈正相关。 结论 这项研究在阐明 DT 和精神病理学症状之间的方向性方面迈出了重要的一步，并增进了我们对这两种结构之间相互作用的理解。个人和人内层面。