Good Traits, Bad Traits, and ‘Ugly’ Behavior: Relations between the Dark Triad, Honesty-Humility, Other HEXACO Personality Traits, and Externalizing Problems in Adolescents

The present study investigated the relative contributions of the Dark Triad, honesty-humility, and other HEXACO traits to externalizing problems in young people. One-hundred-and-six adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years completed an online survey containing the Dirty Dozen for Youth as an index of the Dark Triad traits of psychopathy, Machiavellianism, and narcissism, the HEXACO-Middle School Inventory to assess honesty-humility as well as five other basic personality factors, and the Youth Self-Report to measure symptoms of oppositional-defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD). Results first of all showed that the Dark Triad traits were positively correlated with symptoms of ODD and CD, while the HEXACO factor of honesty-humility was negatively correlated with such symptoms. Further, both types of externalizing problems were associated with a unique set of personality correlates. More precisely, ODD symptoms were predicted by higher psychopathy and lower agreeableness and extraversion, while CD symptoms were predicted by higher psychopathy (and to some extent Machiavellianism) and lower honesty-humility, extraversion, and emotionality. It is concluded that the study of the role of temperament and personality in externalizing problems should take a broad perspective that includes malevolent and benevolent traits from various theoretical models.