The Pathway from Childhood Trauma to Criminal Thinking among Offenders on Probation: The Mediating Role of the Dark Triad

Descriptive findings indicated a high prevalence of trauma in the sample, with 44.9% of participants reporting four or more ACEs. The SEM results revealed that relational childhood traumas did not directly predict criminal thinking but exerted a significant indirect effect through the Dark Triad personality traits (full mediation). When all three Dark Triad traits were included in the model simultaneously, only narcissism emerged as a significant and powerful predictor of criminal thinking (β = .807). The findings suggest a developmental pathway wherein relational childhood trauma fosters the development of narcissistic and antagonistic personality traits, which in turn provide a foundation for criminal thinking.

描述性分析结果显示，该样本中创伤检出率较高，44.9%的参与者报告曾经历4项及以上童年不良经历（Adverse Childhood Experiences, ACEs）。结构方程模型（Structural Equation Modeling, SEM）结果表明，童年关系创伤并未直接预测犯罪思维，而是通过黑暗三人格（Dark Triad）特质产生显著的间接效应（完全中介效应）。当将三项黑暗三人格特质同时纳入模型时，仅自恋特质表现为犯罪思维的显著且强有力的预测因子（β = 0.807）。本研究结果揭示了一条发展路径：童年关系创伤会助长自恋型与敌对型人格特质的形成，而这些特质又为犯罪思维的产生奠定了基础。