Sexual Disgust as a Moderator of Mating Strategy in the Dark Triad

The adoption of short-term mating strategies is strongly associated with the Dark Triad— psychopathy, narcissism, and machiavellianism. However, few studies have sought to understand the mechanisms underlying these relationships. In this context, sexual disgust has also been identified as a variable inversely related to the adoption of short-term mating strategies. Thus, the present study investigated the role of sexual disgust as a moderator of the relationship between Dark Triad traits and the adoption of short-term mating strategies. In this study, 300 individuals with a mean age of 26.86 years (SD = ± 0.47), predominantly female (66.3%; n = 199), completed the Dark Dirty Dozen Six, the Dimensions of Sexual Disgust scale, and a sociodemographic questionnaire that included an item assessing interest in short-term relationships. Dark Triad traits were correlated with short-term mating strategies but not with sexual disgust. Sexual disgust was also negatively associated with short-term mating strategies. However, sexual disgust did not emerge as a moderator in the association between any of the Dark Triad traits and short-term mating strategies. These findings indicate that the adoption of short-term mating strategies among individuals with Dark Triad traits does not appear to be influenced by sexual disgust or the lack thereof.