Relationship between dark triad traits of personality and attachment styles with couple burnout

Couple burnout is one of the factors that reduce the love between couples over time and can lead to emotional or formal divorce. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between the dark triad of personality and attachment styles with couple burnout. The method of this research was descriptive and its design was correlational.‌ The statistical population of this study included married undergraduate students studying psychology in the second semester of 2019-2020 available through cyberspace at the Islamic Azad University, Islamshahr Branch. 206 people were considered as a sample through the convenience sampling method. Dark triad dirty dozen scale (Johnson and Webster, 2010), Adult Attachment Questionnaire (Hazen and Shaver, 1987), and Couple burnout measurement (Pins, 1996) were used to collect data. The data of this study were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate regression analysis. Findings showed that there is a significant positive relationship between dark triad traits of personality with couple burnout, a significant negative relationship between secure attachment style with couple burnout, and a significant positive relationship between avoidant and anxious attachment style with couple burnout. The results of regression analysis showed that the total score of the dark triad of personality and Machiavellism and psychopathy dimensions separately and all three attachment styles can predict couple burnout. Based on the findings of the present study, it can be said inappropriate social behaviors of people with high scores in the dark triad of personality cause lovelessness between couples, reduced intimacy and satisfaction, and ultimately couple burnout. Also, attachment as a stable variable affects marital relationships.