Sadism positively correlates with narcissism
Empirical literature examining the Dark Tetrad consistently demonstrates that sadism and narcissism are positively correlated as part of the broader cluster of dark, antagonistic personality traits.
The retrieved papers consistently evaluate the Dark Tetrad traits (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism) together. Because these traits share a common antagonistic core, studies consistently find positive correlations between sadism and narcissism. None of the provided studies refute this relationship.
Fan Xuan Chen, Ekin Ok, Karl Aquino. Communal Narcissism and Sadism as Predictors of Everyday Vigilantism. 2023. https://doi.org/10.5964/ps.10523
Communal narcissism and sadism were both found to be positively related to vigilantism and cruel behaviors (Birkholz et al., 2023).
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Muhammad Wisnu Girindratama, Dian Anita Nuswantara, A. Alnajar. The Dark Tetrad Personality Traits of Tax Avoidance in the Manufacturing Small and Medium Enterprises; an Empirical Evidence from Indonesia. 2024. https://doi.org/10.26740/jaj.v16n1.p55-74
Individuals possessing the Dark Tetrad traits, including narcissism and sadism, are more prone to justifying and engaging in harmful behaviors (Pratama et al., 2024).
Bakushkin I, Ershova R. Spiritual well-being and "dark" personality traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1743599
Both narcissism and sadism are part of the Dark Tetrad core and show shared variance and positive intercorrelations (Zenkova et al., 2026).
Simpson B, Schermer JA. Self-Construal as a Predictor of Antagonistic Personality Traits.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.3390/bs16010091
Studies examining the Antagonistic or Dark Tetrad consistently group and find positive correlations among Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism (Nathanson et al., 2026).
Forsyth L, Ewens T, Anglim J. Personality and situational predictors of insider threat: a vignette study.. 2026. https://doi.org/10.1080/00049530.2026.2628384
Measures of the Dark Tetrad demonstrate strong positive intercorrelations among its constituent traits, including sadism and narcissism (Gaughan et al., 2026).
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