Predicting Moral Reasoning with Dark Triad of Personality: with mediation role of Emotion Regulation and Empathy

Ethical reasoning in medicine can be a sign of respect for patients. In crises such as the Covid outbreak, the importance of ethical issues increases due to the workload and extreme fatigue of health care workers. This study aims at investigating the relationship between the dark triangle of personality and moral reasoning, with the mediating role of empathy and emotion regulation among Iranian health care providers during the Covid-19 epidemic.

 The current study is a cross-sectional study on all physicians and nurses working in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences Hospitals. Data were gathered using both online and paper-pencil questionnaires. The questions were based on the Interpersonal Reaction Index (IRI), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), the Short Dark Triple (SD3), and Defining Issue Test-2 (DIT).  

It was found that the dark triad of characters has a negative and significant correlation with emotion regulation but has no significant correlation with empathy and moral reasoning. Emotion regulation is positively correlated with moral reasoning. Empathy has no significant relationship with morality and the dark trinity of personality. We can consider emotion regulation as a mediator between the dark triad of personality and moral reasoning.