The Current Status of the Dark Triad and Light Triad Personality Traits in Preclinical Nursing Students and Their Impact on Sympathy

AIMS: To explore the current status of the dark triad and light triad among preclinical nursing students and their impact on sympathy. DESIGN: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. METHODS: Data were collected from 414 preclinical nursing students using the Trait Sympathy Scale, Dirty Dozen, and Light Triad Scale. RESULTS: In the dark triad traits, nursing students scored highest on the narcissism dimension. In the light triad traits, the highest scores were observed in the humanitarianism dimension. Trait sympathy scores were significantly negatively correlated with Machiavellianism and psychopathy scores but significantly positively correlated with narcissism (which may be related to the prosocial characteristics of narcissism among nursing students) and all dimensions of the light triad. Multiple regression analysis indicated that humanitarianism, Kantianism, narcissism, and psychopathy were predictors of sympathy among preclinical nursing students. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.