The role of the Dark Triad traits and two constructs of emotional intelligence on loneliness in adolescents

The social-emotional functions associated with the Dark Triad traits have recently been widely examined. However, no study has explored the relationship between the Dark Triad traits and loneliness in adolescents. The present study aimed to examine the direct and indirect contributions of the Dark Triad traits and both trait and ability emotional intelligence (i.e., EI) to feelings of loneliness in a Chinese adolescent sample (N = 396). Results indicated that both the latent Dark Triad factor and the three Dark Triad traits contributed to loneliness among adolescents. While narcissism was negatively related to loneliness, Machiavellianism and psychopathy were positively associated with loneliness. With regard to trait and ability EI, individuals high in Machiavellianism and psychopathy demonstrated significantly lower levels of trait EI, while those with high Machiavellianism showed greater deficits on ability EI. In contrast, narcissism was associated with impaired ability EI and higher trait EI. The EI associated with each Dark Triad trait could explain some variance of loneliness. The mediation analyses for each of the Dark Triad traits revealed that ability EI fully mediated the effect of Machiavellianism on loneliness, and trait EI partially mediated the effect of narcissism on loneliness.