Pathological narcissism and psychosocial functioning.

Abstract

Pathological narcissism involves maladaptive efforts to regulate the self and is conceptualized by 2 key features: narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability. Prior research has found that narcissism is associated with poorer functioning over the long term, especially interpersonal functioning. Despite this, the specific contributions of grandiosity and vulnerability to different domains of functioning remain understudied. In particular, there has been scant literature investigating pathological narcissism and its effects on functioning in large clinical samples. Understanding how grandiosity and vulnerability each contributes to dysfunction will help inform the conceptualization, prognosis, and treatment recommendations, alike, for narcissism. This study examined the relations between narcissism and different domains of dysfunction in a sample of 288 current or recent psychiatric outpatients. Results suggest that narcissistic grandiosity is associated with specific deficits in interpersonal functioning, whereas vulnerability is associated with all forms of dysfunction. However, after accounting for the shared variance in the predictors, vulnerability continues to be predictive of all forms of dysfunction, whereas grandiosity serves as a modest protective factor.

Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, identity integration and self-control related to criminal behavior

“…It might be that individuals high on narcissistic grandiosity have a higher integrated identity because they are more likely to maintain their self-esteem by employing overt strategies, such as self-enhancement and devaluation of others [ 30 ]. The result may fit into previous studies showing that individuals with grandiose narcissistic traits are better adjusted compared to individuals with vulnerable narcissistic traits [ 39 , 40 , 45 , 76 – 78 ]. For example, Ng et al [ 76 ] found that grandiose narcissism predicted higher life satisfaction and lower perceived stress, whereas vulnerable narcissism showed the opposite pattern.…”

“…Second, since identity diffusion is one of the key features of a narcissistic personality disorder [ 41 , 42 ], we hypothesized that both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism would be directly and negatively associated with identity integration (path 3 and path 4, respectively). Nonetheless, this link might be expected to be weaker for grandiose narcissism, as grandiose narcissism has been documented to be associated with a narrower range of poor identity functioning and better life satisfaction compared to vulnerable narcissism [e.g., 39 , 40 ]. Furthermore, it has been shown that identity diffusion can lead to deviant behavior and a range of maladaptive outcomes such as poor impulse control [ 48 – 51 ].…”

“…Despite theoretical elaboration of the role of identity in narcissism, there is little empirical research on the association between narcissism and identity integration. However, available evidence suggests that narcissistic traits [ 41 , 44 ], and in particular narcissistic vulnerability [ 39 , 40 , 45 ], are associated with higher identity instability (i.e., a weak sense of the self). For example, Dashineau et al [ 39 ] found that narcissistic vulnerability was associated with all forms of dysfunction (e.g., well-being, self-control, and everyday life tasks), while grandiosity was associated with specific deficits in interpersonal functioning.…”

“…However, available evidence suggests that narcissistic traits [ 41 , 44 ], and in particular narcissistic vulnerability [ 39 , 40 , 45 ], are associated with higher identity instability (i.e., a weak sense of the self). For example, Dashineau et al [ 39 ] found that narcissistic vulnerability was associated with all forms of dysfunction (e.g., well-being, self-control, and everyday life tasks), while grandiosity was associated with specific deficits in interpersonal functioning. However, after accounting for shared variance in vulnerability, grandiosity was not associated with most aspects of poor functioning and was positively associated with better functioning in some areas, such as life satisfaction.…”

Narcissistic traits in young people and how experiencing shame relates to current attachment challenges

“…Other studies in adolescence, however, have related grandiose narcissism traits to psychopathology [ 94 , 95 ]. It is thus unclear whether grandiose narcissism being unrelated to shame and insecure attachment in this study is an adaptive form of narcissism [ 66 , 96 ] or whether the relation between grandiose narcissism and shame and attachment experiences might be challenging to capture with self-report measures [ 31 ]. Research using measures of implicit self-esteem and implicit shame have found a relation with grandiose narcissism [ 34 , 97 , 98 ].…”