Development and Validation of the Japanese Version of the Short Dark Triad(SD3-J)

Abstract

Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy are collectively called “Dark Triad” because of they are socially aversive traits. The Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD) and the Short Dark Triad (SD3) were developed as brief measures of the Dark Triad outside Japan. While the DTDD has recently been translated into Japanese, the SD3 has not yet been translated. The purpose of this study was to develop the Japanese version of the SD3 (SD3-J) and to examine its reliability and validity. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the SD3-J had a bi-factor structure. Alpha coefficients for each dimension of the SD3-J showed sufficient levels. Correlation analyses and partial correlation analyses between the SD3-J and existing scales of each Dark Triad trait confirmed the concurrent, discriminant, and incremental validity of the SD3-J. Thus, the SD3-J was confirmed as a useful measure of the Dark Triad in Japan.