Empirical literature has shown that narcissism is often associated with limited empathy, but the mechanism underlying this association is still unclear. The present study investigated the role of identity instability as a mediator of the relationship between narcissistic traits and empathic capabilities. Narcissistic traits, identity instability, and cognitive and emotional empathic capabilities were assessed among 462 nonclinical participants through self-report measures. Results showed a positive association between narcissistic traits and cognitive empathy. On the other hand, a negative association between narcissistic traits and emotional empathy emerged. Furthermore, the study showed that the association between narcissistic traits and impairments in emotional empathy was partially explained by identity instability. Results thus demonstrated that narcissistic traits were associated with higher identity instability, and this, in turn, was associated with decreased abilities to be emotionally involved in others’ affect states. These findings are discussed in the context of an object relations formulation of narcissistic personality.

中文翻译：

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身份不稳定性在自恋和情感移情之间关系中的作用。

实证文献表明，自恋通常与有限的同理心有关，但这种关联的潜在机制尚不清楚。本研究调查了身份不稳定性作为自恋特质与共情能力之间关系的中介作用。通过自我报告措施评估了 462 名非临床参与者的自恋特征、身份不稳定以及认知和情感移情能力。结果显示自恋特征与认知共情之间呈正相关。另一方面，出现了自恋特征和情感同理心之间的负面关联。此外，该研究表明，自恋特征与情感移情障碍之间的关联部分是由身份不稳定来解释的。因此，结果表明自恋特征与更高的身份不稳定性有关，而这反过来又与在情感上参与他人情绪状态的能力下降有关。这些发现是在自恋人格的客体关系表述的背景下讨论的。