A Person-Centered Approach to the Dark Triad Traits and Religiousness: Examining Differences in Intellectual Humility, Prosociality, and Mental Health in US College Students

The present study uses a person-centered approach to examine personality profiles of religious variables and the dark triad traits in relation to intellectual humility, prosociality, and mental health cross-sectionally and longitudinally. Undergraduates at a religious university completed assessments across two timepoints (Time 1: N = 1,006; Time 2: N = 126). Latent profile analyses were conducted at Time 1 to examine profiles of religiousness (i.e., religious practices, vertical faith maturity, Christian orthodoxy, spiritual struggles, religious identity) and the dark triad traits (i.e., Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy) on distal outcomes (i.e., intellectual humility, altruism, indifference, depression, anxiety, stress) at Time 1, Time 2 (2 years later), and Time 2 controlling for Time 1. Results revealed five profiles (low religious, struggling religious, moderates, prosocial religious, antisocial religious) that differed across outcomes. At Time 1, prosocial religious and antisocial religious scored highest in religiousness, but antisocial religious scored higher in the dark triad traits, indifference, depression, anxiety, and stress and lower in intellectual humility and altruism than prosocial religious. Struggling religious scored higher in depression, anxiety, and stress than other profiles at Time 1. Moderates scored higher on intellectual humility-openness compared to prosocial religious and antisocial religious at Time 2, and still scored higher than antisocial religious after controlling for Time 1. The findings suggest there are distinct profiles of religiousness and dark triad traits that predict outcomes cross-sectionally and longitudinally. This study demonstrates the value of taking a person-centered approach to examine the dark triad traits and religiousness.