Considering sadism in the shadow of the Dark Triad traits: A meta-analytic review of the Dark Tetrad

With this meta-analytic review, we aimed to estimate the relationship that sadistic personality has with the Dark Triad traits and, secondarily, describe the research on the Dark Tetrad traits. We searched for articles in the following databases, PsycARTICLES, PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, SCOPUS, and Web of Science, where we found 128 articles to qualitatively evaluate and 103 articles to quantitatively analyze. Sadism correlated with narcissism ((r) over bar = 0.26), Machiavellianism ((r) over bar = 0.43), and psychopathy ((r) over bar = 0.58). The most common themes across the studies were: (a) structural aspects of the Dark Tetrad; (b) online behavior; (c) aggressiveness; (d) moral beliefs and behavior; (e) video games; (f) sexual behavior, and (g) emotional functioning. The Dark Tetrad traits correlated with several dysfunctional behaviors and socially maladaptive outcomes. Finally, sadism is potentially more similar to psychopathy and Machiavellianism, than narcissism.

Automated summary

This meta-analytic review aimed to estimate the relationship between sadistic personality and the Dark Triad traits, and describe the research on the Dark Tetrad traits. The findings showed that sadism was correlated with narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. The study also revealed that the Dark Tetrad traits were associated with various dysfunctional behaviors and socially maladaptive outcomes.