Compliance with COVID-19 Preventive Measures: The Role of Intelligence, the Dark Triad and Dysfunctional Impulsivity

Although measures to prevent COVID-19 infection have been greatly relaxed in many countries, they are still quite stringent in others. However, not all citizens comply with them to the same extent. Many studies show the importance of personality traits in predicting compliance with these measures, but it is not so clear what the role of intelligence is. Therefore, we aimed to assess whether intelligence is related to compliance with these measures, and what its predictive role is when considered together with the dark triad and dysfunctional impulsivity.

A total of 786 participants answered four questionnaires. We performed correlations, multiple regression analysis, and structural equation analysis.

Multiple regression analysis showed that psychopathy and dysfunctional impulsivity were the variables that contributed most to compliance, while intelligence contributed very little. The results of the structural equation modelling suggested that intelligence had only an indirect relationship with compliance, through its relationship with the negative personality traits dysfunctional impulsivity and the dark triad.

Intelligence seems to modulate the relationship between negative personality traits and compliance. Therefore, more intelligent people with negative personality traits would not tend to have such low levels of compliance.