The Dark Triad: Beyond a ‘male’ mating strategy

•We examine the Dark Triad in a large, national sample.•We find no significant sex differences in Dark Triad scores.•Other sex differences in personality and attitudes are generally replicated.•Correlation patterns of these with the Dark Triad are near-identical across sex.•Moderation analysis confirmed no difference in Dark Triad predictors between the sexes.

The Dark Triad (DT: sub-clinical narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy) is argued to facilitate a male short-term mating strategy. The trait constellation in women and its potential adaptive benefits has received less attention. We examined the prevalence and correlates of DT in a large community sample (N = 899). Despite finding expected sex differences in Sensation-seeking, Competitiveness, strength of sexual motivation, recreational sex behaviors and neuroticism, we found no sex difference in DT scores. Furthermore, within-sex multiple regressions identified the same predictors of DT score with similar weightings. Moderation analysis confirmed regression equations did not differ by sex. We propose that focus on DT as a male adaptation to short-term mating has been overstated and that men’s greater preference for casual sexual encounters is not explained by DT traits.