Title of study: Moral Disengagement as a Pathway Linking Dark Traits to Domestic Abuse Beliefs
Name of investigator: Tazmeen Nabi
Email of investigator: tan0269@my.londonmet.ac.uk
Name of supervisor: Chelsea Mainwaring
Email of supervisor: c.mainwaring@londonmet.ac.uk
You are invited to take part in a research study. Before you decide, it is important for you to understand why we are doing this research. It is also important to understand what the study will involve. Please take time to read this information carefully. If you anything is unclear or if you would like more information, do not hesitate to ask. Take your time to decide whether or not you wish to take part in this study.
2. What is the purpose of the study?
This project looks at how dark personality traits relate to domestic violence. We also explore how moral disengagement plays a role. Moral disengagement is how people excuse harmful actions. Dark personalities are common traits, not diagnoses, like narcissism or being highly manipulative. Studies show these traits can predict abuse. However, little research exists on how avoiding guilt (moral disengagement) influences this link. This study aims to show how setting aside moral rules strengthens the tie between dark traits and beliefs about domestic violence.
3. Why have I been chosen to participate?
We are inviting all adults in the UK who are currently, or have been in the past, in a romantic relationship to take part in this study. We believe your participation can provide us with useful information about the topics we are studying.
4. Do I have to take part?
Taking part in this study is completely voluntary. It is up to you to decide whether or not to take part. We will ask you to answer some questions about how you have felt in the past two weeks. Based on your answers, we will advise you as to whether or not the study is suitable for you. If you do take part you will be given this information leaflet to keep and asked to sign (by clicking on the option ‘Yes, I agree to participate in this study”) a consent form before you take part.
If you decide to take part, you can withdraw at any time. You will not face any consequences or need to give a reason. This applies both during and after the study. You can leave the study during participation at any time before submitting your responses by simply closing the Web page of the survey. You can also leave the study after you have submitted your responses.
Before you begin the survey, you will be asked to generate a unique 4-digit PIN and keep it for your own record. This PIN will allow the research team to find your data. After your participation, you are entitled to access, modify or delete your data at any time by completing the survey at: https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/mGREBcF7JC. If you ask us to do this, we will complete your request within 30 days.
The access/modify/delete survey in entirely anonymous and you will be requested to enter the 4-digit PIN you generated at the start of this study. After 30 days, we cannot remove your data from any analyses already finished. However, we will modify or remove your data from any future analysis.
5. What will happen to me if I take part?
The study involves completing 3 short surveys, each containing between 16 and 27 statements. You will also be asked some demographic questions, like your age, sex and ethnic background. This is to provide enough information about the study sample as a whole. This will allow other researchers to repeat the study if they wish to. You are not obliged to answer the demographic questions, excluding your age, as you must be over 18 to participate.
The survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. When you finish the survey, we will give you a debrief form with more details about the study and some suggested reading, should you wish to learn more about the study and its underlying ideas. The debrief form will also invite you to contact the researchers if you have and questions or concerns about your participation. It will also include the link to the access/modify/erase survey.
6. What are the benefits of taking part?
There will be no direct benefits to you. However, your responses will allow us to understand the personal things that influence beliefs and views about domestic abuse.
7. What are the possible disadvantages and risks of taking part?
We have taken all measures to minimise any risk to you. All information will be treated confidentially. However, the topics explored in this study can be considered sensitive in nature. For example, some statements in the dark personality scale may have perceived negative meanings, for example:
I like to use clever manipulation to get my way.
Payback needs to be quick and nasty.
Please be assured that this scale only measures normal, common levels of these traits. It is not a tool to diagnose mental disorders or serious personality issues.
The survey also includes statements about attitudes towards domestic abuse, which may cause some distress. The following are examples of some of the statements:
During a heated argument, it is okay for me to bring up something from my partner’s past to hurt him or her.
It would not be appropriate to ever kick, bite, or hit a partner with one's fist.
Please note that your answers to these statements do not measure or predict real cases of violence. The results will not suggest that you have a tendency to commit such acts, as the scale only measures opinions on hypothetical domestic abuse behaviours.
The study also includes a questionnaire examining moral disengagement. The following are example statements:
Insults don't really hurt anyone.
Someone who is obnoxious does not deserve to be treated like a human being.
This study is not a full measure of any of the ideas we are examining. It is not a diagnostic tool (it cannot diagnose any condition). The risk of distress is low, as these common scales have safely been used in many studies. However, if you are uncomfortable reading any of the above statements, you are advised not to participate in the study.
Participation in this study is completely anonymous and voluntary, and you have the right to skip any questions that may make you uncomfortable. You also have the right to anonymously withdraw from the study during participation and after, without consequence. If you want to withdraw during participation, simply close the Web page and your responses up to that point will not be submitted.
There is no time limit to complete the study once you begin. We encourage you to take breaks where you feel you need to.
Moreover, prior to giving you access to the survey, we will ask you to answer some questions about how you have felt in the past two weeks. Based on your answers, we will advise you as to whether the study is suitable for you.
8. Will my participation in this study be kept confidential?
Your privacy is our top priority. All data collected is anonymous and confidential, and will be stored securely in London Metropolitan university’s cloud server on a password protected device until June 2026. The survey is totally anonymous. The survey you may use after your participation in order to access/modify/delete your data is also completely anonymous. The research team can only identify, modify, or delete your data by matching the PIN you made in the first survey to the one entered in the second survey. Because of this, your data will remain confidential forever.
By law, we must report any unexpected discovery that relates to criminal activity. This is required by the British Psychological Society’s code of Ethics and Conduct (2021).
9. What will happen to the results of this research?
The results of this study will be written up as part of a university Psychology degree undergraduate project at the London Metropolitan University. You can request a copy of the paper once it is completed by contacting the researcher via the details provided in this briefing form and the debrief form.
The data may be published in scientific papers and on public websites. If this happens, your identity and data will remain fully anonymous. No one will know that you took part.
10. What do I do if I have any further questions?
If you have any questions or concerns about your participation, please ask the researcher for further information. They will be happy to answer any questions you have.
11. What is the lawful basis to use my personal data?
The legal basis for processing your personal data is Article 6(1)(e) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The legal basis for processing your sensitive personal data is Article 9(2)(j) GDPR.
12. What are my rights in relation to your use of my personal data?
The legal basis for processing your personal data is Article 6(1)(e) of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the United Kingdom General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), as amended by The Data Protection, Privacy and Electronic Communications (Amendments etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019. If you would like more information about how your data will be processed at London Metropolitan University in accordance with these regulations please visit the following link: http://www.londonmet.ac.uk/about/policies/data-protection/.
As explained in section 4, you have the right to access, modify, or delete your data. In particular, you are entitled to request any of the rights below unless it would make it impossible or very difficult to carry out the research study:
The right to access to your personal data;
The right to receive a copy of your personal data;
The right to ask us to restrict our use of your personal data;
The right to ask us to correct inaccurate information about you; or
The right to ask us to delete your personal data.
You are entitled to object to any further processing of the information we hold about you.
You can learn more about data protection in relation to this study by contacting the researcher or the supervisor at (contact details above), and you exercise these rights by completing the Data Access, Correction or Erasure online survey at https://forms.cloud.microsoft/e/mGREBcF7JC.
Please note that these rights cannot be honoured if the PIN you created in the study survey and the PIN you entered in the access/modify/delete survey do not match. If the PIN you generated was also generated by another participant these rights cannot be honoured. In these two cases we will not be able to access, modify, or delete your data as we will have no way of being able to link the data to you. In order to prevent the latter problem, the access/modify/delete survey also asks for additional information, such as the date and approximate time of your study participation.
13. Time limit to withdraw from the study
Because the student carrying out the research will leave the university upon graduation and dismantle the study apparatus, you can exercise your right to access/modify/erase your data only until June 2026.
14. Ethics review and approval
This study was approved by the Research Ethics Review Panel (RERP) of the University on December 1st2025 and conforms to the British Psychological Society’s Code of Ethics and Conduct (2021).
15. Keep this document for your own record
Please save or print the Web page containing this document for your own record.
If you are interested in participating in this study, please click on the link to the preliminary questions about how have you felt in the past two months:
https://forms.gle/M7ZD5RgHD3EHhk6Y6
After completing the preliminary questions, you will be directed to the study survey.