Introduction: Dark tetrad personality traits are socially disturbing personality traits that have attracted the attention of psychologists and health professionals. Variables potentially associated with these traits include indirect aggression and dominance–prestige orientations.
Aim: This study aimed to determine the role of indirect aggression and dominance-prestige in predicting dark tetrad personality traits.
Method: This descriptive correlational study was conducted among students of the Islamic Azad University, Urmia Branch, during the 2023–2024 academic year (N = 17,020). A total of 400 students were selected using a multi-stage cluster sampling method. The research instruments included the Short Dark Tetrad Personality Scale, the Indirect Aggression Scale, and the Dominance–Prestige Scale. Data were analyzed using Pearson’s correlation coefficients and multiple regression analysis with the enter method in SPSS version 26.
Results: The results of this research showed that indirect aggression, dominance and prestige had a positive and significant relationship with the dark tetrad personality traits including machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy and sadism (P<0.01). Moreover, indirect aggression, dominance, and prestige significantly predicted 10.7%, 14.0%, 7.8%, and 17.6% of the variance in machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, and sadism, respectively (p < 0.01).
Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, indirect aggression, dominance and prestige had an effective role in predicting dark tetrad personality traits. Therefore, it is recommended that educational programs be developed and implemented with the aim of reducing indirect aggression, dominance and prestige in order to reduce dark tetrad personality traits.