Montoro Casandra I, de la Coba Pablo, Moreno-Padilla María, Galvez-Sánchez Carmen M
Department of Psychology, University of Jaén, 23071 Jaén, Spain.
Behav Sci (Basel). 2022 Mar 25;12(4):91. doi: 10.3390/bs12040091.
Narcissism is characterized by entitlement, grandiose fantasies and the need for admiration. This personality trait has been associated with both traumatic experiences and emotional problems. Most studies have only focused on narcissism in the context of childhood trauma and negative emotional factors. However, dimensions of grandiose narcissism such as authority have been linked to adaptive outcomes. Furthermore, narcissism might not be linked only to negative childhood experiences; it may also be associated with the presence of post-traumatic symptoms. Therefore, the present study aimed to assess the associations between narcissism and the frequency and severity of post-traumatic symptoms and emotional factors (resilience capacity, emotional regulation, positive and negative affect, intolerance of uncertainty and perceived stress), as well as the possible mediational role of the latter in the relationship between narcissism and post-traumatic symptoms.
A total of 115 healthy young psychology undergraduates and their relatives, aged from 18 to 40 years, were asked to complete a set of questionnaires to evaluate the aforementioned variables.
The results showed that most of the grandiose narcissism dimensions were positively related to emotional adaptive outcomes, except exploitativeness and entitlement. The negative associations observed between the frequency and severity of post-traumatic symptoms and narcissism (self-sufficiency) were mediated by affect and resilience, which were in turn positively associated with the majority of the narcissism dimensions. Both positive affect and resilience were important factors mediating the association between grandiose narcissism and post-traumatic symptoms.
Our findings reaffirm the need to assess not only desirable personality traits, but also ones that are not initially desirable, before pathologizing them. This consideration may be essential to achieve a personalized approach to the prevention of mental health problems, and promotion of positive emotions, in the general population.
自恋的特征是权利感、夸大幻想和对赞美的需求。这种人格特质与创伤经历和情绪问题都有关联。大多数研究仅关注童年创伤和负面情绪因素背景下的自恋。然而，夸大自恋的维度，如权威，已与适应性结果相关联。此外，自恋可能不仅与童年负面经历有关；它还可能与创伤后症状的存在有关。因此，本研究旨在评估自恋与创伤后症状的频率和严重程度以及情绪因素（心理韧性、情绪调节、积极和消极情绪、对不确定性的不耐受和感知压力）之间的关联，以及后者在自恋与创伤后症状关系中可能的中介作用。
共有115名年龄在18至40岁之间的健康年轻心理学本科生及其亲属被要求完成一组问卷，以评估上述变量。
结果表明，除了剥削性和权利感外，大多数夸大自恋维度与情绪适应性结果呈正相关。创伤后症状的频率和严重程度与自恋（自给自足）之间观察到的负相关由情绪和心理韧性介导，而情绪和心理韧性又与大多数自恋维度呈正相关。积极情绪和心理韧性都是介导夸大自恋与创伤后症状之间关联的重要因素。
我们的研究结果再次强调，在将人格特质病态化之前，不仅要评估理想的人格特质，还要评估那些最初不理想的特质。这种考虑对于在普通人群中实现个性化的心理健康问题预防和积极情绪促进方法可能至关重要。
