Abstract
The Dark Triad of Personality is composed of three higher-order personality constructs: subclinical narcissism, Machiavellianism, and subclinical psychopathy. Recent research indicates that the Dark Triad covaries with sexually coercive behavior, which is generally defined as a spectrum of tactics used by both men and women to obtain sexual activity and/or intercourse with an unwilling partner. The present study examines whether the use of specific sexual coercion strategies (i.e., seduction, manipulation, intoxication, and physical force) and the frequency with which sexual coercion is attempted and/or completed (i.e., rape) are influenced by the severity of Dark Triad trait expression and the gender of the perpetrator. Factor analysis of selected items from the Multidimensional Inventory of Development, Sex, and Aggression yielded factors comparable to the Dark Triad subcomponents. The predictive validity of these factors for sexually coercive tactics was, however, suboptimal. Results indicated that gender and overall lack of empathy were unique and independent predictors of seduction and overall sexual coercion. As such, gender and overall lack of empathy should be considered as separate constructs from the Dark Triad, particularly when analyzing the sexual behaviors of subclinical samples.