Mediating Effect of Dark Triad Personality Traits on the Relationship Between Parental Emotional Warmth and Aggression

Previous research has indicated that positive parenting practices, such as parental emotional warmth, are associated with less negative outcomes in children. These negative outcomes can present during adolescence and during emerging adulthood. One negative consequence can be aggression, a problematic outcome with its own myriad consequences. The current study aimed to examine the effect of parental emotional warmth on adolescent and young adult aggression and the mediating effect of Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism) on this relationship. The sample included 530 Chinese student participants who completed an online questionnaire survey: 241 adolescents aged 15 to 18 years (M = 17.24, SD = 1.00) and 289 young adults aged 19 to 23 years (M = 20.12, SD = 1.03). The results revealed that the association between parental emotional warmth and aggression was fully mediated by Machiavellianism and psychopathy, and the mediating effects of Machiavellianism and psychopathy had no age differences between adolescents and young adults. These results may clinically suggest that paying attention to parental emotional warmth, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy in adolescents and young adults could yield a better understanding of their current and continuous functioning, especially for aggression.