Measuring the Aspects “Machiavellianism”, “Narcissism” and “Psychopathy” in the Indian Context on Original Sd3 Scale

Abstract

Aim and Objectives:

To evaluate a sample's psychometric attributes of 652 students from secondary school aged 14–18 at a co-ed school in West Bengal. The study aims to validate the Short Dark Triad (SD3) in the context of India.

Background:

Several studies have documented the application of the SD3 from various cultural backgrounds, from Portugal, Serbia, Delhi, United Kingdom, and Kolkata. This study is also one of the few to concentrate on the tool's validation in India.

Research Design:

Through structural equation modelling, research methodologies are culturally validated. The tool's factor structure was created using EFA. CFA was then used to determine and validate the factors that had been retrieved.

Research Method:

Stage I involved cleaning and exporting the data generated by the research instrument into the SPSS version 23.0, a user-friendly statistical database. The Stage II participants included secondary school students from designated co-ed schools in West Bengal, aged 14 to 18, who were assessed on the factor structure. In stage III, factors that emerged from the study were confirmed.

Findings:

“Machiavellianism”, “Narcissism”, and “Psychopathy”, three factors of the total of twenty-six items that are in line with the original SD3 scale, arose. For evaluating Dark Personalities in teenagers between the ages of 14 and 18, the Indian version is valid and reliable.

Conclusion:

The psychometric evaluation revealed that the existing scale's characteristics were sufficient for gauging teenage dark personalities in the setting of India. This scale will facilitate understanding the prevalence and underlying mechanisms of psychosocial factors contributing to dark character in school-aged adolescents.