Date of Award
8-2026
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
School
Psychology
Committee Chair
Dr. Eric Dahlen
Committee Chair School
Psychology
Committee Member 2
Dr. Bonnie Nicholson
Committee Member 2 School
Psychology
Committee Member 3
Dr. Kevin Wells
Committee Member 3 School
Psychology
Committee Member 4
Dr. Austen Anderson
Committee Member 4 School
Psychology
Abstract
Research on relational aggression (i.e., a type of aggression in which the aggressor harms others by damaging their relationships, reputation, and/or feelings of social acceptance) with college students has identified several important correlates, including anxious and avoidant attachment styles. Moreover, the personality traits captured by the Vulnerable Dark Triad (VDT; i.e., borderline, the antisocial component of psychopathy, and vulnerable narcissism; Miller et al., 2010) have demonstrated positive relationships with both relational aggression and insecure attachment. This study examined the relationship between insecure attachment and relational aggression among college students (N = 560), testing VDT traits as partial mediators of the relationship between insecure attachment and relational aggression, as well as testing the bifactor structure of the three measures of VDT traits reported by Gamache and colleagues (2023) using confirmatory factor analysis. Results demonstrated that the bifactor structure of the VDT could not be replicated in this sample; instead, a correlated factor model provided best fit and was retained for subsequent analyses. The mediation model revealed that anxious attachment predicted relational aggression through borderline traits and vulnerable narcissistic traits, while avoidant attachment predicted relational aggression through borderline traits only. Factor 2 psychopathy was not a significant mediating pathway. These results informed our understanding of the mechanisms through which insecure attachment predicts relational aggression among college students.
Copyright
Summer Boggs, 2026
Recommended Citation
Boggs, Summer, "Vulnerability in the Dark Triad: Insecure Attachment and Relational Aggression in the Peer Relationships of College Students" (2026). Dissertations. 2486.
https://aquila.usm.edu/dissertations/2486