Narcissism, Low Self-Control, and Violence Among a Nationally Representative Sample

Abstract

A growing body of evidence has highlighted the relationship between narcissism and violence. Importantly, however, the predominance of this evidence comes from experimental tests or small-scale samples that most often overlook the contribution of low self-control to explicating the relationship. The present study refers to the National Epidemiological Study of Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC) to assess narcissism, low self-control, and violence among a nationally representative sample. Using Latent Class Analyses (LCA), four classes of individuals are identified, and multinomial regression models indicate that narcissism and low self-control are associated with a range of violent acts among these groups. Most importantly, results show that the class of individuals that is high in narcissism and deficient in self-control is far and away the most prone to violence. Together, these findings lend important nationally representative support to recent experimental and meta-analytical conclusions suggesting that the co-occurrence of narcissism and low self-control has significant implications for our understanding of violence. Limitations of this study and avenues for future research are discussed.T he etiology of violence has received a wealth of theoretical and empirical attention from a range of disciplines that have offered a diversity

Correlates of narcissism, self‐reported lies, and self‐assessed abilities to tell and detect lies, tell truths, and believe others

“…Like psychopathy, narcissism is considered a predictor of violence and aggression and is, therefore, an important personality construct to be addressed in forensic contexts (Kohut, ; Larson, Vaughn, Salas‐Wright, & Delisi, ). Nevertheless, because personality traits are dimensional by nature, the continuum of narcissism includes varying degrees of manifestations of narcissistic features and, in fact, includes varying degrees of adaptive and maladaptive forms of narcissism.…”

What's in a blush? Physiological blushing reveals narcissistic children's social‐evaluative concerns

“…Narcissism has both grandiose manifestations (such as boastful, aggressive behavior) and vulnerable manifestations (such as a fear of being evaluated negatively; Krizan & Herlache, ; Pincus & Lukowitsky, ). Even in its subclinical form, narcissism predicts maladjustment ranging from aggression and violence to addiction and depression (Carter, Johnson, Exline, Post, & Pagano, ; Dawood & Pincus, ; Larson, Vaughn, Salas‐Wright, & Delisi, ; Rasmussen, ). In its extreme form, narcissism can develop into narcissistic personality disorder, marked by “a pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of empathy” (American Psychiatric Association, ).…”

Lead us not into temptation: The seven deadly sins as a taxonomy of temptations

“…Research has found that children and adolescents low in trait self‐control exhibit greater aggressive and delinquent behaviors (Krueger, Caspi, Moffitt, White, & Stouthamer‐Loeber, ; Murphy & Eisenberg, ). Likewise, adults low in trait self‐control respond to anger‐provoking situations more aggressively (Hofmann et al, ; Jensen‐Campbell, Knack, Waldrip, & Campbell, ; Kashdan, Goodman, Mallar, & DeWall, ; Tangney et al, ) and are more likely to engage in acts of violence (e.g., pushing and hitting; Larson, Vaughn, Salas‐Wright, & Delisi, ) than are those high in this trait. Furthermore, a study on jail inmates found that those low in trait self‐control were higher in verbal and physical aggression than were inmates high in self‐control (Malouf et al, ).…”

“…Furthermore, a study on jail inmates found that those low in trait self‐control were higher in verbal and physical aggression than were inmates high in self‐control (Malouf et al, ). Finally, among people who are currently in a romantic relationship, those low in trait self‐control exhibit greater aggression toward their partner during a conflict (Finkel, DeWall, Slotter, Oaten, & Foshee, ; Larson et al, ) and are less willing to accommodate and forgive their partner's transgressions (Finkel & Campbell, ) than their high counterparts.…”