Nonpathological and Pathological Narcissism: Which Self-Reported Characteristics Are Most Problematic in Adolescents?

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-4-2014

Department

Psychology

Abstract

Prior research indicates that dimensions of adolescent narcissism differ in their associations with indicators of positive and negative psychological functioning (e.g., Barry, Frick, Adler, & Grafeman, 2007; Barry & Wallace, 2010). This study investigated correlates of 2 empirically derived factors of adolescent narcissism (i.e., pathological and nonpathological narcissism) from 2 measures thought to differ based on their inclusion of pathological versus nonpathological content. In a sample of 188 at-risk adolescents ages 16 to 18, pathological narcissism was associated with various indicators of maladjustment, including aggression, low self-esteem, internalizing problems, and poor perceived interpersonal relationships. On the other hand, nonpathological narcissism was positively associated with self-esteem and aggression but negatively associated with internalizing problems. The implications for the conceptualization of adolescent narcissism are discussed.

Publication Title

Journal of Personality Assessment

Volume

96

Issue

2

First Page

212

Last Page

219

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