The Relationship Between Dark Triad And Meaning In Life

Objectives:This research intends to investigate the relationship between dark triad(Machiavellianism,narcissism,psychopathy)and meaning in life,test whether gender moderates the relationship between dark triad and meaning in life,test whether moral identity mediates the relationship between dark triad and meaning in life,test whether perceived social support mediates the relationship between dark triad and meaning in life,explore the relationship among dark triad,moral identity,perceived social support and meaning in life,and discover the implications of this research in terms of practice.Methods:Gender,grade and other factors taken into account,498 students from city and town senior high schools in B and H districts were selected as respondents via stratified random sampling.Chinese Revised Dirty Dozen,The Meaning In Life Questionnaire Chinese Version,the Moral Identity Measure Chinese Version,and Perceived Social Support Scale were employed to conduct tests and valid data were collected.Data were analysed via the SPSS data analysis package in terms of descriptive statistics,independent sample t test,Pearson product difference correlation analysis,hierarchical regression,structural equation model,mediation effect test and moderating effect test.The results of this study were explored in practice,such as psychological crisis intervention and psychological counseling.Results:(1)Male and female respondents did not show statistically significant differences in meaning in life(t=0.754,p>0.05).(2)Those who score high and low in dark triad showed significant differences in scores of meaning in life(t=3.266,p<0.01).(3)Both Machiavellianism and psychopathy are significantly negatively correlated with moral identity(r=-0.17,p<0.01;r=-0.33,p<0.01).Narcissism and moral identity are significantly positively correlated(r=0.17,p<0.01).(4)Gender does not moderate the relationship between Machiavellianism and meaning in life(Z=0.697),Machiavellianism and moral identity(Z=1.122),Machiavellianism and perceived social support(Z=1.166).Gender does not moderate the relationship between narcissism and meaning in life(Z=0.109),narcissism and moral identity(Z=0.142),narcissism and perceived social support(Z=-0.991).Gender does not moderate the relationship between psychopathy and meaning in life(Z=0.882),psychopathy and moral identity(Z=1.503),psychopathy and perceived social support(Z=0.360).(5)Moral identity positively predicts meaning in life(?=0.439,R~2=0.241,p<0.01);perceived social support positively predicts meaning in life(?=0.209,R~2=0.274,p<0.01).(6)Moral identity plays a mediating role between psychopathy and meaning in life.Perceived social support plays a mediating role between psychopathy and meaning in life.Conclusions:(1)There is no significant difference in meaning in life between male and female senior high school students.Besides,there is no significant difference in meaning in life between the test groups from different schools,indicating that which school the respondents are from is not the main factor affecting meaning in life among senior high school students.(2)Those who score high in psychopathy perceive less meaning in life.Psychopathy significantly predicts meaning in life;but Machiavellianism does not predict meaning in life.Moral identity and perceived social support positively predicts meaning in life significantly.(3)Gender does not play a moderating role between the three factors of dark triad and meaning in life.(4)Moral identity shows significant mediating effects between dark triad and meaning in life.Perceived social support plays a significant mediating role between dark triad and meaning in life.