The Role of Personality in Predicting Singlehood Status: Differential Effects of Big Five and Dark Triad Traits Over Time.

OBJECTIVE

The present study used the Pairfam longitudinal dataset to examine the effects of Big Five and Dark Triad personality traits on the probability of being single.

METHOD: Generalized linear mixed models with a within-between decomposition distinguished stable individual differences (between-person component) from wave-to-wave fluctuations (within-person component).

RESULTS

For the Big Five, higher between-person Openness was associated with greater odds of being single, particularly for women, while higher between-person Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Agreeableness were each associated with lower odds, with the Extraversion effect more pronounced for men. Higher mean Neuroticism was associated with greater odds of being single for men but not for women. For the Dark Triad, higher between-person Machiavellianism was associated with lower odds of being single, while Psychopathy and Narcissistic Admiration were associated with higher odds, the latter particularly for women. Narcissistic Rivalry was a risk factor concentrated among men. Within-person fixed effects were largely non-significant, consistent with the rank-order stability of personality, but significant random slopes indicated substantial heterogeneity across individuals.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that personality predicts singlehood primarily through stable dispositional channels, with selective and heterogeneous contributions from within-person dynamics.