The Relationship Between Narcissism and Friendship Qualities in Adolescents: Gender as a Moderator

Effects of Self-Concept on Narcissism: Mediational Role of Perceived Parenting

An increase in narcissism has been reported by experts over the years. Narcissists bring a lot of negative consequences to themselves and to the people around them. This study investigates that perceived parenting leads to the development of inflated, unstable self-concept. The inflated self-concept lays the framework for the development of narcissistic traits among individuals; perceived parenting affects this relationship. A sample of 628 adults was taken from North Cyprus through purposive sampling. Scales for perceived parenting, self-concept, and narcissism were administered. Results showed that the statistically significant variance in the self-concept is explained by perceived parenting. Both mothers and fathers contributed significantly to the development of inflated self-concept. Moreover, multiple linear regression results showed a higher significant variance in narcissistic traits due to self-concept compared with perceived parenting. Mediational tests also showed that high levels of narcissistic traits were indirectly related to self-concept through perceived parenting. The study findings have challenged the notion of only mothers being responsible for narcissistic traits among their children. The study results also suggest that targeting self-concept in individuals with narcissistic traits may be a good directive for therapeutic interventions.

Meta-analysis of coefficient alpha for scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) has greatly facilitated the scientific study of trait narcissism. However, there is great variability in the reported reliability of scores on the NPI. This study meta-analyzes coefficient alpha for scores on the NPI and its sub-scales (e.g. entitlement) with transformed alphas weighted by the inverse of the variance of alpha. Three coders evaluated 1213 individual studies for possible inclusion and determined that 1122 independent samples were suitable for coding on 12 different characteristics of the sample, scale, and study. A fourth author cross-coded 15 percent of these samples resulting in 85 percent overall agreement. In the independent samples, comprised of 195,038 self-reports, the expected population coefficient alpha for the NPI was .82. The population value for alpha on the various sub-scales ranged from .48 for narcissistic self-sufficiency to .76 for narcissistic leadership/authority. Because significant heterogeneity existed in coded study alphas for the overall NPI, moderator tests and an explanatory model were also conducted and reported. It was found that longer scales, the use of a Likert response scale as opposed to the original forced choice response format, higher mean scores and larger standard deviations on the scale, as well as the use of samples with a larger percentage of female respondents were all positively related to the expected population alpha for scores on the overall NPI. These results will likely aid researchers who are concerned with the reliability of scores on the NPI in their research on non-clinical subjects.

Individualized prediction of trait narcissism from whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity

Narcissism is one of the most fundamental personality traits in which individuals in general population exhibit a large heterogeneity. Despite a surge of interest in examining behavioral characteristics of narcissism in the past decades, the neurobiological substrates underlying narcissism remain poorly understood. Here, we addressed this issue by applying a machine learning approach to decode trait narcissism from whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data were acquired for a large sample comprising 155 healthy adults, each of whom was assessed for trait narcissism. Using a linear prediction model, we examined the relationship between whole-brain RSFC and trait narcissism. We demonstrated that the machine-learning model was able to decode individual trait narcissism from RSFC across multiple neural systems, including functional connectivity between and within limbic and prefrontal systems as well as their connectivity with other networks. Key nodes that contributed to the prediction model included the amygdala, prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions that have been linked to trait narcissism. These findings remained robust using different validation procedures. Our findings thus demonstrate that RSFC among multiple neural systems predicts trait narcissism at the individual level.

Gender differences in brain structure and resting-state functional connectivity related to narcissistic personality

Although cognitive and personality studies have observed gender differences in narcissism, the neural bases of these differences remain unknown. The current study combined the voxel-based morphometry and resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) analyses to explore the sex-specific neural basis of narcissistic personality. The VBM results showed that the relationship between narcissistic personality and regional gray matter volume (rGMV) differed between sexes. Narcissistic scores had a significant positive correlation with the rGMV of the right SPL in females, but not in males. Further analyses were conducted to investigate the sex-specific relationship between rsFC and narcissism, using right SPL/frontal eye fields (FEF) as the seed regions (key nodes of the dorsal attention network, DAN). Interestingly, decreased anticorrelations between the right SPL/FEF and areas of the precuneus and middle frontal gyrus (key nodes of the the default mode network, DMN) were associated with higher narcissistic personality scores in males, whereas females showed the opposite tendency. The findings indicate that gender differences in narcissism may be associated with differences in the intrinsic and dynamic interplay between the internally-directed DMN and the externally-directed TPN. Morphometry and functional connectivity analyses can enhance our understanding of the neural basis of sex-specific narcissism.

Social anxiety and the Big Five personality traits: the interactive relationship of trust and openness

It is well established that social anxiety (SA) has a positive relationship with neuroticism and a negative relationship with extraversion. However, findings on the relationships between SA and agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience are mixed. In regard to facet-level personality traits, SA is negatively correlated with trust (a facet of agreeableness) and self-efficacy (a facet of conscientiousness). No research has examined interactions among the Big Five personality traits (e.g., extraversion) and facet levels of personality in relation to SA. In two studies using undergraduate samples (N = 502; N = 698), we examined the relationships between trust, self-efficacy, the Big Five, and SA. SA correlated positively with neuroticism, negatively with extraversion, and had weaker relationships with agreeableness, openness, and trust. In linear regression predicting SA, there was a significant interaction between trust and openness over and above gender. In addition to supporting previous research on SA and the Big Five, we found that openness is related to SA for individuals low in trust. Our results suggest that high openness may protect against the higher SA levels associated with low trust.