Original Paper

Psychopathology 2014;47:297302 Received: October 23, 2013

Accepted after revision: January 6, 2014
DOI: 10.1159/000358563
Published online: May 17, 2014

Dimensions of Religious/Spiritual
Well-Being and the Dark Triad of
Personality
Monika Kmmerle a Human-Friedrich Unterrainer ac
Phoebe Dahmen-Wassenberg a Andreas Fink a Hans-Peter Kapfhammer b
a
Institute of Psychology, Karl Franzens University Graz, and b Psychiatry Clinic, Medical University of Graz, Graz, and
c
Center for Integrative Addiction Research (Grner Kreis Society), Vienna, Austria

Key Words
Religious/spiritual well-being Dark triad Narcissism
Machiavellianism Psychopathy
Abstract
Background: In general, religious/spiritual dimensions are
found to be negatively correlated with all kinds of psychiatric
disorders such as depression, suicidal ideation and sub-
stance abuse. Contrary to these findings, the goal of this
study was to investigate the relationship between dimen-
sions of religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB) and less favor-
able aspects of personality the so-called dark triad of per-
sonality traits, i.e. narcissism, machiavellianism and psy-
chopathy together with general deficits in personality
structure. Sampling and Methods: A total of 312 college stu-
dents (220 females) completed the Multidimensional Inven-
tory for RSWB, the revised Narcissistic Personality Inventory,
the Machiavellianism Inventory and the Levenson Self-Re-
port Psychopathy Scale along with the 16-item Inventory of
Personality Organization. Results: RSWB was confirmed to
be negatively correlated with these negative aspects of per-
sonality, in particular with subclinical psychopathy. More
specifically, there were several notable overlaps; narcissism,
for instance, was found to be significantly positively associ-
ated with some RSWB subdimensions such as hope or con-
nectedness. Conclusions: First deductions can be made
from these data concerning an ambivalent role of spirituality
in impaired personality structure. These associations might
be further investigated especially in psychiatric patients di-
agnosed with personality disorders in order to describe po-
tential psychopathological facets of religion and spirituality
more adequately. 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel
Introduction
There is a positive relationship between religion and
spirituality and various indicators for mental health as
well as favorable aspects of personality (e.g. agreeable-
ness) constantly highlighted in the literature. On the oth-
er hand, religious/spiritual well-being (RSWB) was found
to be negatively associated with nearly every kind of men-
tal illness such as anxious/depressive disorders or sub-
stance dependencies [1]. Piedmont [2] describes religion
and spirituality as universal threads in the fabric of hu-
M.K. and H.-F.U. contributed equally to this work.

2014 S. Karger AG, Basel PD Dr. Human-Friedrich Unterrainer

02544962/14/04750297$39.50/0 Center for Integrative Addiction Research (Grner Kreis Society), Karl Franzens
University Graz, Geidorfgrtel 20/4/10
E-Mail karger@karger.com
AT8010 Graz (Austria)
www.karger.com/psp
E-Mail human.unterrainer@uni-graz.at
man experience (p. 988). Consequently, many different
definitions and operationalizations of these essential con-
structs exist; this somewhat complicates any comparison
of studies. Furthermore, their relation to various facets of
a deficient personality structure is still rather a blind spot
on the map of personality research. However, there is
some evidence that borderline and antisocial personality
traits are negatively associated with, or at least unrelated
to, dimensions of religion and spirituality [3]. In contrast
to this, magical ideation (as a facet of schizotypy) was
found to be positively associated with RSWB [4]. More-
over, feelings of being plunged into a religious crisis (such
as feeling abandoned by God) have been reported as be-
ing positively related to most of the axis II disorders (e.g.
schizotypal, narcissistic or antisocial personality disor-
ders) [5]. In line with this, it is reasoned [6] that persons
diagnosed with an antisocial personality disorder might
use spiritual awareness as a means of manipulating others
who seek spiritual awakening by preying on their gullibil-
ity or navet in an almost effortless manner. Historically,
this notion is best illustrated by the fact that religious cult
leaders such as Jim Jones or Charles Manson took advan-
tage of otherwise innocent individuals with no apparent
history of mental illness in making them commit acts
contrary to their character, such as self-harm or murder
[7]. Therefore, in the present study, we focus on the more
or less dark side of personality, which comprises several
traits referred to as the dark triad of personality [8] as
well as general deficits in personality structure. The latter
applies to Kernbergs psychodynamic model of personal-
ity organization [9]. Kernberg describes personality orga-
nization on a continuum, which is divided into a neurot-
ic, a borderline and a psychotic level, implicating a con-
tinuous increase in structural deficit. The concept of
structural deficits refers to the psychodynamic domains
primitive defenses, identity diffusion and reality test- edness); There are things which I cannot forgive (for-
ing. Deficits in primitive defenses implicate maladaptive
coping strategies like splitting and projection. Identity
diffusion refers to internal representations of self and sig-
nificant others which are unstable and not well integrat-
ed. Reality testing can be described as the ability to distin-
guish between internal and external stimuli and the abil-
ity to maintain contact with a socially shared reality [9].
The dark triad concept of personality comprises sub-
clinical narcissism, machiavellianism and subclinical psy-
chopathy. These three traits turned out to be conceptu-
ally and empirically overlapping but distinct; generally,
persons with these traits are described as callous and so-
cially aversive [8, 10]. In particular, subclinical narcissism
applies to the symptoms of narcissistic personality disor-
298 Psychopathology 2014;47:297302
DOI: 10.1159/000358563
der which are described in the DSM-III [11]. Conse-
quently, entitlement, dominance and superiority are rel-
evant aspects of this trait. Machiavellianism is character-
ized as a treacherous personality which behaves in a cold
and manipulative way [12]. Subclinical psychopathy con-
sists of two separate aspects: primary psychopathy refers
to an egoistic, manipulative and cold attitude, while sec-
ondary psychopathy applies to an impulsive and self-de-
structive lifestyle [12].
Based on the existing literature [10, 13], these negative
facets of personality such as narcissism, machiavellianism
and psychopathy can be assumed to be positively associ-
ated with a more deficient personality structure. There-
fore, we accepted the dark triad of personality, in combi-
nation with Kernbergs model of personality organization,
as adequate indicators to predict potential psychopatho-
logical patterns of religiosity and spirituality.
By contrast, we applied the concept of RSWB, permit-
ting an assessment of both religious and spiritual aspects
and their diverse manifestations. RSWB is broadly de-
fined as the ability to experience and integrate meaning
and purpose in existence through a connectedness with
self, others or a power greater than oneself [14] (p. 117).
This multidimensional construct refers to 6 dimensions:
hope immanent, forgiveness and experiences of sense
and meaning apply to the immanent area, which can be
optionally attached to a religious/spiritual area of percep-
tion; then there are the facets hope transcendent, gen-
eral religiosity and connectedness, which allude to the
transcendent sphere, referring to a supernatural,
transpersonal realm of reality [15] (p. 193). In order to
exemplify the meaning of these dimensions, the following
marker items shall be given: My faith gives me a feeling
of security (general religiosity); I have experienced the
feeling of being absorbed in something greater (connect-
giveness; coded reversely); I have experienced true (au-
thentic) feelings (experiences of sense and meaning); I
view the future with optimism (hope immanent), and I
often think about the fact that I will have to leave my loved
ones behind (hope transcendent; coded reversely) [14].
Dimensions of RSWB were found to be positively corre-
lated with various indicators of subjective well-being (e.g.
sense of coherence) and, consequently, to be negatively
associated with symptoms of mental illness (e.g. anxiety
or depression) in nonclinical [15] as well as in clinical
psychiatric populations [15, 16]. Furthermore, the RSWB
dimensions turned out to be substantially positively (e. g.
extraversion) as well as negatively (e.g. neuroticism) re-
lated to several personality factors [17].
Kmmerle et al.
 Research Question
With respect to the aphorism The brighter the light,
the darker the shadow [5] (p. 173) which illustrates the
fact that all things in life carry assets and liabilities with
them, not excepting spirituality the present study is in-
tended to make an introductory attempt at investigating
dimensions such as religiosity and spirituality in relation
to the more hidden, almost pernicious aspects of person-
ality. These should be adequately encompassed by con-
cepts such as the dark triad and structural deficits even in
nonclinical populations [813, 17]. As delineated above,
it has to be emphasized that the existing literature is strict-
ly limited, thus the character of this studys hypothesis is
wholly unspecific and explorative with no particular pre-
dicted outcome.
Subjects and Methods
Participants
A total of 312 college students from all fields of study were en-
rolled for the present study; 220 (70%) were female and 92 (30%)
were male. The whole sample was German speaking and between
18 and 34 years of age (mean = 23.76 years; SD = 3.66 years). The
questionnaires were completed online. The participants remained
completely anonymous and received no course credits in return
for their participation. Ethics approval was granted by the ethics
committee of Karl Franzens University Graz.
Measures
To measure the dark triad, 3 standardized self-report question-
naires were applied. The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI)
[11; German adaptation] was used to measure subclinical narcis-
sism; it consists of 40 four-point Likert items. Subclinical psychop-
athy was measured with the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy
Scale [12; German adaptation]; the main score consists of 16 and
10 four-point Likert items which refer to the 2 subscales of pri-
mary and secondary psychopathy, respectively. The Machiavel-
lianism Inventory [17; German adaptation] was used to measure
machiavellianism, comprising 18 six-point Likert items. In the
present sample, Cronbachs reliability values for the NPI, Ma-
chiavellianism Inventory and Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy
Scale were 0.86, 0.82 and 0.86, respectively.
The 16-Item Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO-16)
[18] is a one-dimensional screening instrument to measure struc-
tural deficits in the domains primary defenses, identity diffusion
and reality testing. The currently validated version of the scale con-
sists of 16 five-point Likert items. In the present study, a Cronbach
reliability value of 0.80 was detected for the scale.
The Multidimensional Inventory of RSWB [17] was used to as-
sess the varying facets of RSWB. The test comprises 48 items and
6 subscales (general religiosity, forgiveness, hope immanent, con-
nectedness, hope transcendent and experiences of sense and
meaning). Each subscale is measured by 8 six-point Likert items.
Cronbachs reliability was >0.7 for all the subscales and 0.91 for
the total score in the present sample. (See Unterrainer et al. [19]
Dimensions of RSWB and the Dark Triad
of Personality
and Unterrainer and Fink [20], where further details with regard
to the English adaptation of the scale as well as recently acquired
norm values for the Austrian nonclinical population are present-
ed.)
Statistical Analysis
In order to investigate the relation between the dimensions of
RSWB and the dark side of personality, Pearsons correlation coef-
ficients were calculated. In addition, we performed linear multiple
regression analyses, in which the variables of the dark side of per-
sonality were used as predictors of the respective RSWB dimen-
sions. A Bonferroni adjustment was performed in order to control
inflation, which can be a consequence of utilizing multiple com-
parisons.
Results
In general there were small but significant correlations
of narcissism with machiavellianism and psychopathy
(r = 0.27 and r = 0.28). However, this was surpassed by an
excessively strong association between machiavellianism
and psychopathy (r = 0.72). Structural deficits in person-
ality were positively linked to machiavellianism (r = 0.29)
and psychopathy (r = 0.38), but there was no significant
correlation between structural deficits and narcissism (all
significance levels refer to p < 0.001).
Table1 displays Pearsons correlation coefficients (r)
for the association of RSWB (subscales and total score)
with the variables of the dark side of personality. Further-
more, standardized regression coefficients () are provid-
ed to demonstrate the prediction of the respective RSWB
dimensions and the total score by the dark side personal-
ity variables.
Psychopathy was negatively related to all RSWB di-
mensions, particularly to forgiveness (r = 0.43) and the
RSWB total score (r = 0.44). With respect to the stan-
dardized regression coefficients, a high psychopathy
score predicted low occurrences of all the RSWB dimen-
sions except for hope transcendent. Notably, psychopa-
thy was the strongest predictor of the RSWB total score
( = 0.46) compared with the other dark aspects of per-
sonality.
Machiavellianism showed a minor negative associa-
tion with hope transcendent and experiences of sense and
meaning (r = 0.24 and r = 0.26) as well as a moderate
negative correlation with forgiveness (r = 0.38) and the
RSWB total score (r = 0.34). There was no further sig-
nificant association with RSWB. Regarding the coeffi-
cients, machiavellianism predicted none of the RSWB di-
mensions. Consequently, the trait was not a predictor of
the RSWB total score; in addition, the associations be-
Psychopathology 2014;47:297302 299
DOI: 10.1159/000358563
 Table 1. Dimensions of RSWB in relation to the dark side of personality (n = 312)

r ()
narcissism machiavellianism psychopathy structural deficits

General religiosity 0.05 (0.16) 0.19 (0.04) 0.26** (0.32*) 0.03 (0.11)
Forgiveness 0.11 (0.02) 0.38** (0.15) 0.43** (0.32*) 0.19 (0.02)
Hope immanent 0.43** (0.50*) 0.11 (0.05) 0.23** (0.35*) 0.30** (0.15)
Connectedness 0.20** (0.34*) 0.15 (0.07) 0.21** (0.36*) 0.10 (0.27*)
Hope transcendent 0.08 (0.07) 0.24** (0.11) 0.25** (0.02) 0.37** (0.34*)
Experiences of sense and meaning 0.27** (0.40*) 0.26** (0.01) 0.34** (0.38*) 0.19 (0.01)
RSWB 0.17 (0.32*) 0.34** (0.10) 0.44** (0.46*) 0.21** (0.01)

Values denote Pearsons correlation coefficients with standardized regression coefficients in parentheses.
* p < 0.003; ** p < 0.0004.

tween machiavellianism and the RSWB dimensions could
be thoroughly explained by the shared variance of the
predictors. Narcissism showed a decent positive associa-
tion with hope immanent (r = 0.43) as well as a weak pos-
itive correlation with connectedness and experiences of
sense and meaning (r = 0.20 and r = 0.27). Other RSWB
dimensions and the total score showed no significant as-
sociation with narcissism. According to the standardized
regression coefficients, narcissism turned out to be a rel-
evant predictor of hope immanent ( = 0.50), connected-
ness ( = 0.34), experiences of sense and meaning ( =
0.40) and, consequently, the RSWB total score ( = 0.32).
Structural deficits in personality exhibited a moderate
negative correlation with hope immanent and hope tran-
scendent (r = 0.30 and r = 0.37). No further significant
association with any of the other RSWB dimensions was
found other than a minor negative correlation between
structural deficits in personality and the RSWB total score
(r = 0.21). However, this association, as well as the cor-
relation between structural deficits and hope immanent,
could be explained completely by the shared variance of
the predictors. Nonetheless, structural deficits in person-
ality predicted diminished hope transcendent ( = 0.34)
and, remarkably, increased connectedness ( = 0.27).
Further facet-level analyses confirmed the general re-
sults of a negative association between RSWB dimensions
and dark triad members on the one hand and structural
deficits in personality on the other hand (at least p < 0.05).
There was just one exception: the RSWB dimension of
connectedness turned out to be mildly positively related
to the IPO subdimension of impaired reality testing (r =
0.20; p < 0.001). No relevant differences (Cohens d <0.2)
could be detected for RSWB dimensions in comparison
with several other healthy control groups [15, 20]. These
results proved to be the same for all of the RSWB sub-
scales. We also found minimal effects (Cohens d <0.2) for
the scores of the dark triad variables by comparing them
with other student samples [12, 17, 21, 22] as well as for
the IPO scores of a general German community sample
[18].
Discussion
In the present study, we focused on the dark side of per-
sonality in relation to different facets of religiosity and
spirituality. Thereby, we assumed that at least some facets
of religiosity and spirituality could be positively linked to
a lacking development of personality. However, with re-
spect to this assumption, our results offer a straightfor-
ward conclusion, particularly in view of the finding that
the dimensions of RSWB were negatively related to psy-
chopathy. Even after controlling for the shared variance of
the other dark variables, psychopathy turned out to be the
strongest negative correlate of RSWB. In particular, these
results mirror the aversive and self-defeating character of
psychopathy already known from previous research [23].
According to the negative association of psychopathy with
the two transcendent dimensions of general religiosity and
connectedness, a strictly limited access to the transcen-
dental sphere can be assumed for people scoring high on
psychopathy. Nevertheless, the dimension of hope tran-
scendent, the hope for a better life after death, remained
unimpaired by the unique influence of psychopathy.
In addition, it was found that RSWB dimensions were
not related to machiavellianism when the shared variance

300 Psychopathology 2014;47:297302 Kmmerle et al.

DOI: 10.1159/000358563
of the variables of the dark side of personality was con-
trolled for. Thus, the unique influence of machiavellian-
ism on RSWB seems to be less aversive than the impact of
psychopathy already discussed. However, a more differ-
entiated analysis of machiavellianism would be necessary
to clarify its relation to the RSWB dimensions in more
detail, e.g. Rauthmann and Wills [24] proposal of a mul-
tidimensional conceptualization of machiavellianism due
to its complex nature.
In contrast, hope immanent, connectedness and expe-
riences of sense and meaning were strongly linked to nar-
cissism. The strongest correlate was hope immanent,
which refers to an optimistic view of the future. These
results may indeed reflect one of the positive sides of nar-
cissism, as reported in various studies [23, 25]. However,
there is another possible explanation for the positive rela-
tion to hope immanent, connectedness and experiences
of sense and meaning: people who score high on narcis-
sism might present themselves in an extraordinarily pos-
itive manner due to their propensity for self-enhance-
ment [25]. Accordingly, it was shown that people scoring
high on narcissism rate their creativity higher than it ac-
tually is [26]. They may also possibly present themselves
as being more optimistic toward the world than they ac-
tually are. Nevertheless, two limitations have to be con-
sidered concerning the NPI. Firstly, the NPI seems to as-
sess merely one variant of the trait, the so-called grandi-
ose narcissism, which is also characterized by a highly
opportunistic worldview [22]. Thus, our findings can
only be generalized for that type of narcissism. An even
more serious consideration is the following: Rosenthal
and Hooley [25] have shown that certain NPI items which
correlate with parameters of mental health actually mea-
sure self-esteem. Consequently, the validity of the NPI
has to be questioned.
The RSWB total score was not linked to structural def-
icits in any way. Nevertheless, after controlling for inter-
correlations between the dark side parameters, hope tran-
scendent turned out to be the only RSWB dimension to
be negatively associated with structural deficits. Notably,
structural deficit was positively correlated with connect-
edness, which is defined as the feeling of being at one
with oneself, other persons, with the environment or even
with a higher power [14] (p. 117); with respect to iden-
tity diffusion and reality testing, two domains of the
structural deficit model, the positive association with
connectedness makes even more sense. Unstable repre-
sentations of self and others as well as an impaired capac-
ity to distinguish between internal and external stimuli
may facilitate feelings of connectedness. Furthermore,
Dimensions of RSWB and the Dark Triad
of Personality
connectedness was also positively predicted by narcis-
sism. Due to the limitations to the NPI noted above, this
result needs to be interpreted carefully. However, these
findings are consistent with previous research emphasiz-
ing a positive relation between connectedness and indica-
tors of psychopathology [16, 19]. Thus, at least some fac-
ets of connectedness seem to be linked to psychopatho-
logical potential. Notwithstanding, in accordance with
Piedmonts [5] statement that the ability to step outside
of oneself and to put ones life into a larger interpretative
context can be emotionally healing and liberating (p.
185), other facets of connectedness might still act as a re-
source. Furthermore, RSWB dimensions referring to the
immanent area of perception (forgiveness, hope imma-
nent and experiences of sense and meaning) were not pre-
dicted by structural deficits in personality. These dimen-
sions of existential well-being (which are not explicitly
attached to the transcendental dimension) are not defeat-
ed by the unique influence of the facets of the dark side of
personality. Further research may be necessary to deepen
our knowledge about the nature of their relationship.
Furthermore, the RSWB subdimension of general re-
ligiosity was found to be unrelated to narcissism, machia-
vellianism and structural deficits. The independence of
general religiosity hints at the possibility that the belief in
God, his mercy and his trustworthiness may represent a
resource for people so that they can cope with deficits in
their personality structure. Nevertheless, there could also
be a second aspect of general religiosity which uses the
image of God to stabilize dysfunctional thoughts or to
justify inappropriate behavior. However, either conclu-
sion would underline the necessity of considering reli-
gious aspects in therapy [5].
In conclusion, by associating the RSWB dimensions
with some indicators of the dark side of personality, the
present study found some positive as well as (to a small
extent) negative correlates within aspects of RSWB. How-
ever, it has to be emphasized that our data did not show
anything corresponding to the idea of a religious psycho-
path [22]. In order to broaden our understanding of this
particular domain, especially with regard to pathological
aspects of religiosity and spirituality, we strongly suggest
that further dark personality facets are considered in fu-
ture research. For instance, an alternative concept to the
dark triad, the so-called vulnerable dark triad of person-
ality, was proposed, comprising vulnerable narcissism,
borderline personality disorder and secondary psychopa-
thy [27]; this approach might lead to completely different
results. Finally, our findings may be classified as a contri-
bution to this newly initiated discussion about the con-
Psychopathology 2014;47:297302 301
DOI: 10.1159/000358563
sideration of religious/spiritual issues for an in-depth
characterization of personality disorders [3]. Therefore,
further research, including clinical patients who have
been diagnosed with a severe personality disorder, is
strongly recommended as a next step.
Acknowledgements
The authors of this study would like to thank Nikolas Bonatos
for making critical and helpful comments in order to improve the
structure and lucidity of the text.

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