Gender differences in the relationship between childhood abuse and machiavellianism traits: a network analysis

Objectives: A network analysis was used to examine the relationship between childhood abuse and Machiavellian traits in different genders. This has not been done before. Methods: The study recruited Chinese university students; 1,285 students completed questionnaires measuring childhood abuse and Machiavellianism. Network analysis was done using R Studio. Results: The results of the study indicate that 75.9% of participants abused met the criteria for one type of child abuse. Two examined constructs (i.e., childhood abuse and Machiavellianism) were interconnected in the females’ and males’ networks. The results showed negative relationships between physical neglect/ emotional neglect and desire for status (PN-Dst, EN-Dst), and a positive correlation between emotional abuse and desire for status (EA-Stt) in both genders. Unique to female networks is the link between emotional abuse and distrust (EA-Dst), while physical neglect was associated with distrust (PN-Dst) in females and with control (PN-Cnt) in males. Sexual/ physical abuse was related to control desire (SA-Cnt, PA-Cnt) in females only. The link between amorality and emotional abuse or neglect (EA-Amr, EN-Amr) was showed in females. In contrast, amorality in males is associated with physical abuse (PA-Amr). Conclusion: The results demonstrate the utility of a network approach in modeling the correlational structure of childhood abuse and Machiavellianism. It identifies key factors and communities within the network while also measuring the strength and direction of symptom ties, and provides novel insights into gender differences.