No abstract

With theoretical and empirical interest in narcissism growing, there is a need for brief measures of pathological narcissism that can be used more practically while assessing the construct comprehensively. Data from four samples (total n = 3,851) collected across two separate research groups and representing undergraduate, community, and clinical populations was used to establish the reliability, validity, and utility of the Brief-Pathological Narcissism Inventory (B-PNI). Item response theory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine the best-performing 28 items from the original PNI and ensure that the B-PNI exhibited a factor structure consistent with the original PNI. Items were retained for all seven pathological narcissism facet scales. Additional results also support the criterion validity of the B-PNI, suggesting it can be used in place of the original PNI to assess the various facets of pathological narcissism effectively and without loss of information, which may enhance the ability of researchers to investigate pathological narcissism in future work.

Drawing on extant work on shame and emotion regulation, this article proposes that three broad forms of maladaptive shame regulation strategies are fundamental in much of personality pathology: Prevention (e.g., dependence, fantasy), used preemptively, lessens potential for shame; Escape (e.g., social withdrawal, misdirection) reduces current or imminent shame; Aggression, used after shame begins, refocuses shame into anger directed at the self (e.g., physical self-harm) or others (e.g., verbal aggression). This article focuses on the contributions of shame regulation to the development and maintenance of personality pathology, highlighting how various maladaptive shame regulation strategies may lead to personality pathology symptoms, associated features, and dimensions. Consideration is also given to the possible shame-related constructs necessitating emotion regulation (e.g., shame aversion and proneness) and the points in the emotion process when regulation can occur.

Little research has examined different dimensions of narcissism that may parallel psychopathy facets in criminally-involved individuals. The present study examined the pattern of relationships between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, assessed using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-16 and the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, respectively, and the four facets of psychopathy (interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial) assessed via the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV). As predicted, grandiose and vulnerable narcissism showed differential relationships to psychopathy facets, with grandiose narcissism relating positively to the interpersonal facet of psychopathy and vulnerable narcissism relating positively to the lifestyle facet of psychopathy. Paralleling existing psychopathy research, vulnerable narcissism showed stronger associations than grandiose narcissism to 1) other forms of psychopathology, including internalizing and substance use disorders, and 2) self- and other-directed aggression, measured using the Life History of Aggression and the Forms of Aggression Questionnaire. Grandiose narcissism was nonetheless associated with social dysfunction marked by a manipulative and deceitful interpersonal style and unprovoked aggression. Potentially important implications for uncovering etiological pathways and developing treatment interventions for these disorders in externalizing adults are discussed.

Drawing on the self-injury and self-conscious emotion literatures, this study examined the functions of and motivations for self-injury in 67 women, 25 of whom had a history of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Specifically, the present study tested whether women with a history of NSSI engaged in such behavior in order to reduce shame, in particular, and whether shame-related constructs represent important motivational factors for NSSI. To do so, participants completed (a) self-reports of NSSI functions and relevant personality dimensions (e.g., shame-proneness; shame aversion); and (b) a pain-inducing laboratory task with assessments of state emotions pre- and post-task. Elevations in aversion to general negative affect were associated with presence (vs. absence) of an NSSI history. However, consistent with a role for shame in NSSI, among women with an NSSI history, endorsement of shame regulation functions was positively associated with the frequency of NSSI. Moreover, elevations in shame-proneness were associated with more frequent NSSI, even after taking relevant, broader personality dimensions (e.g., proneness to general negative affect) into account. Finally, following the laboratory task, women with and without an NSSI history experienced reductions in state shame. Future directions for and clinical implications of the present research are discussed.