The Revised Assessment of Sadistic Personality (ASP-8): Evidence for Validity across Four Countries

Plouffe, RA, Kowalski, CM, Papageorgiou, KA, Dinić, BM, Artamonova, E, Dagnall, N ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0657-7604, Denovan, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9082-7225, Gianniou, FM, Kyriazos, T, Saklofske, DH and Stalikas, A (2023) The Revised Assessment of Sadistic Personality (ASP-8): Evidence for Validity across Four Countries. Journal of Personality Assessment, 105 (2). pp. 149-162. ISSN 0022-3891

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Abstract

Subclinical sadism, characterized by infliction of cruelty, aggression, or humiliation on another for subjugation or pleasure, provides important information in the prediction of aversive behaviors that have implications for individuals’ and society’s well-being worldwide. Given sadism’s universal relevance, it is imperative that researchers ensure valid and reliable trait measurement not only among English-speaking individuals, but also cross-nationally among countries in which sadism remains relatively understudied. The objective of the current research was to validate the revised version of the Assessment of Sadistic Personality (ASP-8) (Plouffe et al., 2017) across samples of Russian (n = 1087, M age = 37.36, SD = 10.36), Greek (n = 1195, M age = 35.64, SD age = 13.08), Serbian (n = 443, M age = 28.10, SD age = 6.60), and British (n = 511, M age = 28.50, SD age = 11.62) adults. Overall, results supported the reliability, dimensionality, and scalar/partial scalar measurement invariance of the ASP-8 across cross-national samples. Convergent and discriminant validity were mostly supported through correlations with general personality traits, the Dark Triad, emotional intelligence, mental toughness, depression, anxiety, stress, satisfaction with life, aggression, and attitudes toward social groups. Based on our findings, we recommend the use of the ASP-8 in future investigations of aversive traits.