Objective: The association of narcissistic disturbances in patients with melancholia symptoms has been described in various studies. The mechanism by which narcissistic disturbances may contribute to difficulties in emotional regulation and self-destructive behavior in melancholic patients have not been explored well. This lack of attention represents a vital theoretical ambiguity about the interaction of narcissism and death drive, which was introduced to the literature by the arbitrary way of Freud interpreted Narcissus myth. Based on an intense clinical case study, the aim of the current qualitative study is to elaborate on the contribution of narcissistic disturbances in difficulties of emotional regulation and self-destructive behavior in melancholic patients. Methods:A female melancholic patient with severe self-destructive behavior and suicide attempts was interviewed through 72 sessions of the psychoanalytic therapeutic interview by a trained and supervised ego-psychology oriented therapist. The interviews were analyzed qualitatively via reflective analysis. A modified investigators triangulation method was used for testing and maximizing the validity and reliability of the interviews. Results:The analysis of interviews revealed that the patient resorted to narcissistic defenses and mechanisms such as narcissistic identification and high ego ideal for dealing with frequent traumatic losses, and serious narcissistic assaults in her childhood. These narcissistic disturbances not only cussed melancholia by interfering and preventing the work of mourning but also lead to self-mutilation and self-destructive behavior.Conclusion: Narcissistic disturbances in melancholia might give the upper hand to death drive in preventing the work of mourning as normal and necessary emotional regulation process after a traumatic object loss and attacks object relations through disobjectalizing function. We argued that considering Narcissus as a melancholic and his death as a suicidal act is more productive in elaborating the interaction of narcissism and death drive.

Objective: Our study aims to examine the mediating role of prosocial moral reasoning, emotion regulation, and emotion lability in the relation between temperamental characteristics and prosocial behaviour. Methods:In a cross-sectional study, a sample of 202 students were recruited through random multistage sampling method. The participants were interviewed about their prosocial moral reasoning. Their mothers also completed questionnaires on temperament, emotion regulation, and prosocial tendencies. Results:Path analysis indicates that model is fit to data (χ 2 (9)=13.97, CFI=0.92, RMSEA=0.06, SRMR=0.05). Emotion regulation partially mediates the relation between effortful control and altruistic behaviour. In addition, emotion lability mediates the relation between negative affectivity and altruistic behaviour. Conclusion:Our findings show that emotion regulation and emotion lability have stronger determinant role in mediating the relation between temperamental characteristics and prosocial behaviours than prosocial moral reasoning. Our results have implications on the heterogeneity of prosocial behaviours. Highlights• The relation between effortful control and altruistic behavior is mediated through emotion regulation skills.• The relation between negative affectivity and altruistic behavior is mediated through emotion lability.• Gender does not moderate the mediating role of emotion regulation and emotion lability in relation between temperament and prosocial behavior.