Experiences of childhood trauma and dark personality traits in women: The mediating role of social support

The aim of this study was to determine the role of childhood traumatic experiences with dark personality traits mediated by social support. The statistical population of women referring to counseling centers in Tehran was in the period of February 2016 to June 1400. After conducting an initial interview, 250 eligible women were selected in a purposefully available manner by observing the criteria for entering and leaving the research and were assigned to childhood injury questionnaires. Dark personality traits and perceived social support responded. The collected data were analyzed using correlation coefficients and structural equations. The results of correlation coefficients showed a negative correlation between social support with the total score of dark personality traits and components of narcissism, Machiavellianism and anti-socialism and between emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional negligence and physical negligence with the total score of dark personality traits and components. Narcissism, Machiavellianism and anti-socialism and with perceived support and components of perceived support by family, perceived support by important people and perceived support by others have a negative correlation at the level of α = 0.01. The results of the path coefficient model showed that there was a significant direct relationship between the components of childhood rotational injury (emotional abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional neglect and physical negligence) with dark personality traits and social support. There is also a significant direct negative relationship between social support and dark personality traits. Childhood trauma experiences are affected by personality vulnerabilities and long-term developmental experiences, and these factors increase the complexity of personality traits over time.