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Short Dark Tetrad - Polish version (SD4-PL) - examination of psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism - preliminary psychometric properties of the tool in Polish conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2025

P. Dębski ,
P. Pałczyński ,
M. Garczarczyk ,
M. Piankowska ,
K. Haratyk ,
M. Noras ,
M. Szostak  and
M. Meisner
P. Dębski*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitas University, Sosnowiec, Poland
P. Pałczyński
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitas University, Sosnowiec, Poland
M. Garczarczyk
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitas University, Sosnowiec, Poland
M. Piankowska
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitas University, Sosnowiec, Poland
K. Haratyk
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitas University, Sosnowiec, Poland
M. Noras
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitas University, Sosnowiec, Poland
M. Szostak
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitas University, Sosnowiec, Poland
M. Meisner
Affiliation:
Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities, Humanitas University, Sosnowiec, Poland
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

The Dark Tetrad of Personality includes factors commonly recognized as socially aversive. So far, they have been recognized as psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism. Nowadays, sadism has also been included in the scope of dark personality traits. There are many tools for examining the Dark Triad of Personality, while tools dedicated to the Dark Tetrad are under development. One such tool is The Short Dark Tetrad scale (SD4) by Paulhus et al. (2021), which, due to its popularity, may enable cross-cultural research in the future.

Objectives

The aim of the study was to assess the preliminary psychometric properties of the Short Dark Tetrad tool - Polish version (SD4-PL).

Methods

972 people with an average age of 34.39±11.09 SD years were recruited for the study. The 28-item Short Dark Tetrad scale (SD4) was translated into Polish (SD4 Pl) and used for a study. As part of the statistical analyses, a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used, based on the structural equation modeling. The internal consistency of the tool was also assessed.

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) parameters turned out to be satisfactory. The original structure of the tool was maintained, which consists of four 7-item scales dedicated to psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism. The obtained psychometric parameters turned out to be similar to the results obtained in several countries where the Short Dark Tetrad scale has already been introduced. Satisfactory measures confirming the reliability of the tool (Cronbach’s α) were also obtained, ranging between 0.68 and 0.79.

Conclusions

Short Dark Tetrad - Polish version (SD4-PL) presents satisfactory psychometric properties. By maintaining the original structure of the tool, it opens the possibility of examining its equivalence with other language versions and, in the future, the possibility of conducting international research focusing on factors such as psychopathy, narcissism, Machiavellianism and sadism.

Disclosure of Interest

None Declared

Information

Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 68 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 33rd European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2025 , pp. S944
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of European Psychiatric Association
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