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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Dec;25(5):4159-4172.
doi: 10.1177/15248380241270027. Epub 2024 Aug 20.

Machiavellianism and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Lisa K White  1 , Natasha Valos  1 , Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia  1 , Megan L Willis  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Machiavellianism and Intimate Partner Violence Perpetration: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Lisa K White et al. Trauma Violence Abuse. 2024 Dec.

Abstract

This systematic review and meta-analysis estimated the size of the relationship between Machiavellianism and intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration. Further, we explored whether the strength of this relationship varied depending on IPV type (i.e., physical, psychological, sexual, and cyber), and perpetrator gender. Systematic searches of Medline Complete, PsycInfo, Scopus, and Web of Science databases were conducted on July 4, 2023. Studies were included if they were a peer-reviewed published paper or unpublished dissertation, in English, included a measure of Machiavellianism and IPV perpetration, and reported the relationship between these variables. Study quality was assessed using the AXIS tool. Nineteen studies (N = 9,464) were included in a random-effects meta-analysis revealing a significant, weak, positive correlation between Machiavellianism and IPV perpetration (r = .16, 95% CI [0.11, 0.21], p < .001). Machiavellianism had a significant, weak, positive relationship with cyber (r = .25, 95% CI [0.17, 0.32], p < .001), psychological (r = .20, 95% CI [0.15, 0.24], p < .001), and sexual IPV (r = .10, 95% CI [0.02, 0.19], p = .020). No significant relationship was found for physical IPV. There was no significant difference in the strength of the relationship between women and men. These findings are limited by the measures being self-report, heterogeneity across studies, and the cross-sectional nature of the included studies which limits the understanding of causal pathways. Nonetheless, this meta-analysis shows a link between Machiavellianism and IPV perpetration, and future research should examine how this knowledge may be used to reduce IPV perpetration.

Keywords: Dark Triad; Machiavellianism; domestic violence; intimate partner violence; meta-analysis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting InterestsThe author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) flow diagram of the study selection process.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Random-effects meta-analysis and forest plot for overall relationship.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Funnel plot for all included effect sizes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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