Effect of Dark Triad on gratitude: the roles of belief in a just world and life history strategy.

INTRODUCTION: Grounded in belief in a just world theory and life history theory, this study examined the associations between Dark Triad traits and gratitude among Chinese adolescents. METHODS: A total of 734 middle school students (M = 13.71, SD = 1.03; 361 males, 373 females) were recruited via a cross-sectional design, and all participants completed the Short Dark Triad (SD3), Mini-K Scale, Adolescent Gratitude Scale (AGS), and Belief in a Just World Scale (BJWS). RESULTS: Correlation analyses indicated that Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism were all negatively correlated with gratitude. Regression-based mediation analyses further showed that: belief in a just world mediated the associations of Machiavellianism and psychopathy with gratitude, respectively; life history strategy only mediated the association between psychopathy and gratitude; furthermore, belief in a just world and life-history strategy chain-mediated the associations of Machiavellianism and psychopathy with gratitude. CONCLUSION: These findings delineate the differing patterns of gratitude associated with distinct Dark Triad traits and illuminate the indirect pathways underlying these associations.