Thoughts between dark personality and aggression: The mediating role of violent ideation

Abstract

The Theory of Planned Behavior posits that intentionality is the primary antecedent of behavior. While the effects of Dark Tetrad traits on aggressive behavior are well-documented, and violent ideation has also been identified as a significant predictor of aggression, research exploring the interrelationships between these factors remains limited. This study aimed to analyze the relationship between Dark Tetrad and reactive and proactive aggression, as well as to examine whether this relationship could be mediated by violent ideation. A sample of 824 Spaniards completed measures of Dark Tetrad, violent ideation, and aggression. Results showed that psychopathy and sadism had the strongest direct effects on both types of aggression, while Machiavellianism and narcissism presented weaker associations. Violent ideation partially mediated these relationships, though the indirect effects were small, indicating that other mechanisms contribute to aggression. In the combined model, which controlled for shared variance among traits, Machiavellianism retained a direct effect only on reactive aggression, while sadism remained a predictor of proactive aggression. In contrast, narcissism lost all predictive power. Proactive and reactive aggression shows distinct underlying motivations. These findings underscore the importance of comprehensively understanding the intrapersonal variables that impact aggression, which facilitates a more accurate approach to identifying risk factors.