According to a recent study, if your partner displays multiple ‘dark personality’ traits, you are likely to get cheated on more than once.
Theory on dark personality relates this phenomenon to narcissistic persons who have no empathy towards others and always put themselves first. In addition, they may display sadistic behavior, act selfishly, and abandon their morals.
Research so far found that persons with dark personalities are jealous and violent, they tend to cheat and change partners quickly, and their relationships are short-lived. The present study aimed to find a way to assist people who have a partner with a dark personality.
The participant sample included 308 Spanish students aged 18-25. The participants completed a survey consisting of a section on their demographic data, a questionnaire on handling relationship issues, and two tools measuring dark personality traits and moral disengagement, respectively.
The results revealed that men obtained higher scores on all dark personality traits than women, except for narcissism. Almost a quarter of the total participants cheated on their partner, while 40.8% of this group did it repeatedly.
The study had its drawbacks, such as the size and representation of the participant sample. Namely, most of the participants were female, and all participants were enrolled at university, which limited the age range.
The research team behind the study hopes to overcome these obstacles and conduct further research focused on helping people in a relationship with a partner with a dark personality.
