The moderating role of perceived parental warmth in the relationship between Dark Triad traits and filial piety among young adults in Malaysia

Leong, Ying Shuang and Tang, Shi Shi (2025) The moderating role of perceived parental warmth in the relationship between Dark Triad traits and filial piety among young adults in Malaysia. Final Year Project, UTAR.

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Abstract

This study examined the associations between Dark Triad personality traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) and filial piety among Malaysian young adults, as well as the moderating role of perceived parental warmth. A total of 215 participants aged 18–33 completed validated measures of the Short Dark Triad (SD3), Dual Filial Piety Scale (DFPS), and Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ). Pearson’s correlation analyses showed that Machiavellianism and psychopathy were positively associated with authoritarian filial piety, whereas narcissism showed no significant relationship. For reciprocal filial piety, Machiavellianism showed a positive correlation, psychopathy showed a negative correlation, and narcissism again showed no association. Moderation analyses using PROCESS Macro Model 1 indicated that perceived parental warmth did not significantly alter most associations between Dark Triad traits and filial piety. However, perceived parental warmth significantly strengthened the association between psychopathy and authoritarian filial piety. The findings suggest that authoritarian filial attitudes may be more sensitive to self-serving or exploitative personality tendencies, whereas reciprocal filial piety is minimally shaped by such traits. Although parental warmth is beneficial in broader parenting research, but it did not buffer or amplify most of these associations. This study extends filial piety research by integrating personality psychology with contemporary Malaysian family dynamics.

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