Developmental pathways of childhood dark traits

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Personality Psychology
• Developmental Psychopathology

Background:

• The dark triad of personality comprises narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy.
• Childhood maladaptive traits conceptually overlap with the adult dark triad.
• Prospective developmental trajectories of these traits in childhood and adolescence remain understudied.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the developmental course of childhood dark traits over a decade.
• To examine the predictive validity of early dark traits for adult dark triad scores.
• To explore shared and unique growth patterns among childhood dark traits.

Main Methods:

• Latent growth modeling was employed to analyze longitudinal data.
• A multi-informant design across five waves spanned childhood, adolescence, and emerging adulthood.
• Six childhood maladaptive traits conceptually covering the adult dark triad were assessed (N=717).

Main Results:

• Childhood dark traits exhibited both shared and unique growth trajectories over time.
• Early dark traits significantly predicted adult dark triad measures across informants.
• Childhood dark traits increasingly differentiated prototypical and less prototypical adult profiles.

Conclusions:

• Childhood dark traits represent a meaningful developmental precursor to the adult dark triad.
• The findings support a developmental psychopathology framework for understanding personality disturbances.
• Longitudinal assessment reveals the dynamic nature of early maladaptive personality characteristics.