Self-esteem, narcissism, and stressful life events: Testing for selection and socialization.

Abstract

We examined whether self-esteem and narcissism predict the occurrence of stressful life events (i.e., selection) and whether stressful life events predict change in self-esteem and narcissism (i.e., socialization). The analyses were based on longitudinal data from 2 studies, including samples of 328 young adults (Study 1) and 371 adults (Study 2). The effects of self-esteem and narcissism were mutually controlled for each other and, moreover, controlled for effects of depression. After conducting the study-level analyses, we meta-analytically aggregated the findings. Self-esteem had a selection effect, suggesting that low self-esteem led to the occurrence of stressful life events; however, this effect became nonsignificant when depression was controlled for. Regardless of whether depression was controlled for or not, narcissism had a selection effect, suggesting that high narcissism led to the occurrence of stressful life events. Moreover, stressful life events had a socialization effect on self-esteem, but not on narcissism, suggesting that the occurrence of stressful life events decreased self-esteem. Analyses of trait–state models indicated that narcissism consisted almost exclusively of perfectly stable trait variance, providing a possible explanation for the absence of socialization effects on narcissism. The findings have significant implications because they suggest that a person’s level of narcissism influences whether stressful life events occur, and that self-esteem is shaped by the occurrence of stressful life events. Moreover, we discuss the possibility that depression mediates the selection effect of low self-esteem on stressful life events.

Narcissistic self-esteem or optimal self-esteem? A Latent Profile Analysis of self-esteem and psychological entitlement

“…Alternatively, this may be a transitional profile that many people fall into at some point within their life-span, perhaps after experiencing negative life events, but move out of over time. Similarly, while the narcissistic self-esteem class currently has high self-esteem, they may not in the future (Orth & Luciano, 2015), particularly considering that narcissists' self-esteem is more reactive to external events and shows more fluctuation (Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001). Finally, there remains the question of whether membership in the narcissistic self-esteem profile is growing over time, as narcissism has been found to be increasing in some research (Twenge, 2013), but remaining stable in others (Trzesniewski & Donnellan, 2010).…”

“…Recent research suggests that both high narcissism and low self-esteem can lead to the experience of stressful life events, which in turn cause low self-esteem (Orth & Luciano, 2015). Therefore, belonging to the low self-regard profile or the narcissistic self-esteem profile may be related to low self-esteem over time.…”

Climbing the corporate ladder and within-person changes in narcissism: Reciprocal relationships over two decades

“…There is currently a glaring lack of knowledge on the developmental trajectories of narcissism in adulthood, let alone on the specific conditions that may influence it (Grijalva & Harms, 2014;Orth & Luciano, 2015;Tasselli et al, 2018). With regard to narcissism development, some preliminary research has demonstrated age differences in narcissism, showing that older people tend to score lower on narcissism compared to younger people (Foster, Campbell, & Twenge, 2003;Roberts, Edmonds, & Grijalva, 2010).…”

“…Instead, such age differences have mainly been used to inform the debate on the (non-)existence of generational differences in narcissism (e.g., Roberts et al, 2010;Trzesniewski, Donnellan, & Robins, 2008a;2008b). In addition to this cross-sectional work, and more relevant to the current study, a handful of investigations have looked at within-person changes in narcissism using longitudinal designs in which participants are tracked across several years during young adulthood (i.e., under age 30) (Carlson & Gjerde, 2009;Grosz et al, 2019;Orth & Luciano, 2015). Across all three studies, virtually no mean-level intraindividual change in narcissism was observed during early adulthood.…”

Relationship of Self-Esteem with Quality of Life and Narcissism in Veterans and Disabled Professional Cyclists

“…‫ﺑﻪ‬ ‫ﻧﻔﺲ‬ ‫ﻋﺰت‬ ‫ﺧﻮد‬ ‫درﺑﺎره‬ ‫ﻓﺮد‬ ‫ﮐﻪ‬ ‫ﻋﺎﻃﻔﯽ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﺷﻨﺎﺧﺘﯽ‬ ‫ﻣﻔﻬﻮﻣﯽ‬ ‫ﻋﻨﻮان‬ ‫ﭼ‬ ‫اﯾﻨﮑﻪ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﺧﻮد‬ ‫ﺗﻮﺻﯿﻒ‬ ‫و‬ ‫درک‬ ‫و‬ ‫دارد‬ ‫و‬ ‫اﺣﺘﺮام‬ ‫ﺧﻮدش‬ ‫ﺑﺮای‬ ‫ﻘﺪر‬ ‫اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﺷﺪه‬ ‫ﺗﻌﺮﯾﻒ‬ ‫اﺳﺖ‬ ‫ﻗﺎﯾﻞ‬ ‫ارزش‬ [3] ‫و‬ ‫ﻣﻮﻓﻘﯿﺖ‬ ‫ﺑﺎ‬ ‫ﻧﻔﺲ‬ ‫ﻋﺰت‬ . ‫اﺳﺘﺮس‬ ‫روﯾﺪادﻫﺎی‬ ‫ﺑﺎ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻠﻪ‬ ‫ﺗﻮاﻧﺎﯾﯽ‬ ‫دارد‬ ‫ارﺗﺒﺎط‬ ‫زﻧﺪﮔﯽ‬ ‫زای‬ [4] .…”