KMAN Publication Inc. (KMANPUB) Psychology of Woman Journal 3041-8615 5 Serial Number 20 2024 10 01 Predicting Marital Conflicts through the Dark Triad of Personality with the Mediation of Ego Strength in Women Seeking Divorce Predicting Marital Conflicts through the Dark Triad of Personality with the Mediation of Ego Strength in Women Seeking Divorce 47 53 10.61838/kman.pwj.5.4.6 EN Journal Article 2024 08 05 <p><strong>Objective:</strong> The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between distress tolerance, Dark Triad personality traits, and marital conflict, with ego strength as a mediating variable, in women seeking divorce.</p> <p><strong>Methods and Materials: </strong>The study utilized a descriptive-correlational design and included a sample of women seeking divorce who visited marital counseling clinics in District 3 of Tehran during the spring of 2024. Data were collected using self-report questionnaires: the Marital Conflict Questionnaire, the Short Dark Triad Personality Questionnaire (SD3), and the Psychological Ego Strength Inventory (PIES). Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed for data analysis.</p> <p><strong>Findings: </strong>The results revealed that distress tolerance had an indirect and significant effect on marital conflict through the mediation of ego strength (β = -0.366, p = 0.001). Among the Dark Triad traits, Machiavellianism showed an indirect and significant effect on marital conflict (β = 0.170, p = 0.001), while psychopathy and narcissism did not exhibit significant indirect effects. Narcissism had a direct positive effect on marital conflict (β = 0.275, p = 0.000), whereas psychopathy and Machiavellianism did not have direct effects. Ego strength had a significant negative effect on marital conflict (β = -0.595, p = 0.000).</p> <p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Machiavellianism indirectly influences marital conflict through the reduction of ego strength, while narcissism has a direct positive effect on conflict. Ego strength plays a key role in reducing marital conflict, suggesting that interventions aimed at enhancing ego strength and addressing manipulative personality traits may be effective in mitigating marital conflict among women.</p> https://www.journals.kmanpub.com/index.php/psywoman/article/download/3166/4614