Rasgos de la tríada oscura, impulsividad y la desregulación emocional identificando las diferencias por género en adultos ecuatorianos

Abstract

This research is justified by the need to understand how Dark Triad traits are associated with emotional dysregulation and impulsivity in Ecuadorian adults, and whether these relationships differ between men and women, providing useful evidence for psychological prevention and intervention. A total of 1,416 participants (632 men and 784 women) were recruited through non-probabilistic snowball sampling. Three instruments were applied: the Dirty Dozen scale, to assess Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism; the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11), to measure impulsivity; and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS). Questionnaires were administered via the Qualtrics platform, and statistical analyses were conducted using SPSS software within a quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, and correlational design. Descriptive analyses revealed moderate average scores across the three dark traits, impulsivity, and emotional dysregulation. No significant gender differences were found in impulsivity or emotional dysregulation; however, men scored higher than women in Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism (p < 0.05). Pearson correlations showed that all three Dark Triad traits were positively associated with impulsivity and emotional dysregulation (p < 0.001), indicating that higher levels of Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy are related to more impulsive behavior and reduced affective regulation. In conclusion, the findings suggest that the Dark Triad is linked to deficits in emotional and behavioral self-regulation among Ecuadorian adults. Furthermore, the absence of gender differences in impulsivity and emotion regulation highlights consistent patterns across men and women. These results provide relevant evidence for understanding behavior in the Ecuadorian population and underscore the importance of considering dark personality traits in clinical and social contexts.