The Dark Triad of Personality’s Relationship with Compliance towards COVID-19 Pandemic Recommendations along with Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms in Polish Citizens

Anna M. Gogola, Paweł Dębski, Agnieszka Goryczka, Piotr Gorczyca and Magdalena Piegza
Additional contact information
Anna M. Gogola: Chair and Clinical Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Góry, Poland
Paweł Dębski: Chair and Clinical Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Góry, Poland
Agnieszka Goryczka: Chair and Clinical Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Góry, Poland
Piotr Gorczyca: Chair and Clinical Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Góry, Poland
Magdalena Piegza: Chair and Clinical Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, 42-612 Tarnowskie Góry, Poland

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-12

Abstract: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone to comply with rules of a sanitary regime and social distancing on a daily basis. The aim of our research was to assess the differences in the levels of Dark Triad traits between people who obeyed and disobeyed the pandemic restrictions. Additionally, we considered the possible correlation between the Dark Triad and the intensity of symptoms of depression and anxiety. A total of 604 Polish participants, whose average age was 28.95 ± 11.27 years, completed an online survey which measured Dark Triad traits using the Polish version of the Dirty Dozen test. Anxiety and depression were assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). The results revealed a possible relationship between personality traits and compliance with pandemic restrictions. Individuals with higher levels of psychopathy tended to disobey newly introduced rules. On the other hand, a higher level of subclinical narcissism might have contributed to a better civil compliance. The results showed a significant positive correlation between the intensity of the Dark Triad and the occurrence of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, narcissism was linked to anxiety symptoms. These results can contribute to a better understanding of behavioural patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic within the group of individuals who exhibit the Dark Triad traits. Our conclusions might help to identify individuals who are particularly vulnerable to mental health problems.

Keywords: Dark Triad; COVID-19 restrictions; pandemic; HADS; depression; anxiety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/10/5478/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/10/5478/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:10:p:5478-:d:558558

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().