The Dark Triad predicts future psychological intimate partner violence perpetration through ostracism

The Dark Triad is widely associated with antisocial behaviors.This study investigated whether the three facets of the Dark Triad prospectively predict psychological intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, and whether these effects are mediated by higher experiences of ostracism, an extra-relational factor.We focused on psychological IPV in romantic and marital relationships and conducted two three-wave longitudinal surveys over 6 months.We recruited 1,021 romantically involved individuals in Study 1 and 1,608 married individuals in Study 2. Across the studies, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism at Time 1 were significantly positively correlated with psychological IPV perpetration at Time 3 respectively, and ostracism at Time 2 was significantly positively associated with psychological IPV perpetration at Time 3. Furthermore, the latent cross-lagged effects model indicated that Machiavellianism and psychopathy prospectively predicted psychological IPV perpetration at Time 3 through higher experiences of ostracism at Time 2 in both romantic and marital relationships.These results suggest the need for considering everyday experiences outside of intimate relationships for the prevention and intervention of IPV.