The dark triad, trait-based self-objectification, and body image concerns in young women

Self-objectification occurs when women view their bodies as objects, existing for the pleasure of others. Individual differences in trait-based self-objectification are associated with negative psychological outcomes, including an increased risk of poor body image. Recent research has revealed that narcissism moderates the pathway between self-objectification and body image concerns, but research has yet to explore the moderating role of the remaining members of the dark triad. This study presents evidence from a cross-sectional study of young Australian women (age range: 18–30 years) in which we explored the potential for each dark triad traits (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism) to differently act as a risk or a protective factor for body image concerns, or to be a moderator in the relationship between self-objectification and body image concerns. Specifically, participants responded to explicit (self-report) and implicit (associative) measures of self-objectification, the dark triad, and measures of body shame and discrepancies in actual-ideal weight. A somewhat unexpected pattern of findings emerged from regression analyses - narcissism was a protective factor, while Machiavellianism was a risk factor in the development of body image concerns through self-objectification. Psychopathy was mostly unrelated to body image concerns. The implicit measure of self-objectification was unrelated to all other measures.