Recent research has reported an association between narcissism in youth and a variety of externalizing behavior problems. The extent to which narcissism, conceptualized in two ways (i.e., as part of psychopathy; as a constellation of maladaptive and adaptive features), was related to internalizing problems in adolescents was examined in this study. Participants were 534 at-risk adolescents ages 16–19, attending a military-style residential program. Psychopathy-linked narcissism was positively associated with self-reported internalizing problems; however, narcissism assessed from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory for Children (NPIC; Barry, Frick, & Killian, 2003) was negatively associated with such symptoms. Perceptions of peer relationships appeared to play a role in this latter association. The implications for the understanding of youth narcissism are discussed.
“When I get sad, I stop being sad and be awesome instead. True story.” Barney Stinson, How I Met Your Mother.
Despite the confident, even grandiose, presentations of individuals with high levels of narcissism, theories concerning the construct have posited that a narcissistic presentation conceals an underlying self-doubting, insecure, and anxious self-perception (e.g., Kernberg, 1975). The theoretical groundwork for a relation between narcissism and internalizing problems dates at least to Kernberg (1975) but has garnered further support through more recent work. For example, narcissism has been linked to increased anxiety after perceived failure (Rhodewalt & Morf, 1998). Morf and Rhodewalt (2001) recognized that narcissists could be described as “emotionally labile and prone to extremes of euphoria, despair, and rage” (p. 177).
This picture, however, is complex. Narcissism is associated both with a tendency to engage in self-enhancement in a way that appears consistent with self-assuredness and inconsistent with anxiety but to also engage in self-protection strategies (e.g., seeking positive feedback) that are actually suggestive of anxiety and insecurity (Hepper, Gramzow, & Sedikides, 2010). Empirical evidence with adults has further suggested that narcissism is indicative of underlying, relatively automatic negative self-views (Jordan, Spencer, Zanna, Hoshino-Browne, & Correll, 2003) or self-esteem that is fragile and susceptible to environmental events such as feedback from others (Rhodewalt, Madrian, & Cheney, 1998). Thus, some association between narcissism and internalizing problems, although counterintuitive at first glance, is suggested from both theory and empirical evidence. Internalizing problems (e.g., symptoms of anxiety and depression) as associated features of narcissism have received minimal attention in comparison to externalizing (e.g., aggression) correlates of narcissism, particularly in youth. The primary goal of the present study was to investigate whether an association between narcissism and internalizing problems in an at-risk adolescent sample depends on the type of narcissism being evaluated. In addition, it was posited that peer problems might help explain the connection between narcissism and internalizing problems.
Some initial evidence suggests a positive association between certain features of narcissism and internalizing problems in early adolescents (Washburn, McMahon, King, Reinecke, & Silver, 2004). As demonstrated by Washburn and colleagues (2004), in their study of 10–15 year-olds, some aspects of narcissism (e.g., exhibitionism) may be particularly related to internalizing problems. Washburn and colleagues note that the interpersonal strategies employed by individuals with these characteristics may be designed to gain admiration from others. However, consistent with Morf and Rhodewalt (2001), they speculate that the strategies may backfire and promote the development of internalizing problems in the face of social disapproval. Very little additional research exists concerning a connection between youth narcissism and internalizing problems. It is important to consider the possibility that youth with narcissistic tendencies may either experience a marked lack of internalizing problems or, in contrast, may experience higher levels of sadness and anxiety, presumably due to their fragile self-views (Morf & Rhodewalt, 2001) and the social problems that may result from their interpersonal styles (Twenge & Campbell, 2003). In short, the role of narcissism in youth internalizing problems is unclear, partly because of the very nature of narcissistic presentations.
Another layer of complexity is added by the emergence of different approaches to the conceptualization and assessment of youth narcissism. Barry and Wallace (in press) found that self-report inventories of adolescent narcissism were only moderately interrelated and had somewhat divergent correlates in terms of behavioral, emotional, and social functioning. However, internalizing problems were not examined in that study. Thus, it was important to consider different measures of narcissism in the present study to further inform how different conceptualizations of narcissism might relate differently to internalizing problems.
One approach of evaluating narcissism in youth has considered narcissism itself as a multidimensional construct (e.g., Barry, Frick, et al., 2007 and Barry et al., 2003), whereas another has conceptualized narcissism as one domain within the broader multidimensional construct of psychopathy (e.g., Frick, Bodin, & Barry, 2000). The former approach is based on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Hall, 1979) and a downwardly extended youth version of the NPI (Barry et al., 2003). It includes characteristics such as grandiosity, vanity, and an overt sense of entitlement. Psychopathy-linked narcissism, on the other hand, tends to focus on one’s actions (e.g., bragging about accomplishments, becoming angry when corrected or punished) as indicators of narcissism.
