The interplay between vulnerable and grandiose narcissism, emotion dysregulation, and distress tolerance in adolescents

Abstract

This study investigated the relations of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism with emotion dysregulation and distress tolerance in a sample of at-risk adolescents. Data were collected from 329 participants (ages 16–19), who were attending a residential military-style intervention program. Vulnerable narcissism showed a negative correlation with distress tolerance and was positively correlated with emotion dysregulation. In contrast, grandiose narcissism was negatively related to emotion dysregulation and was not associated with distress tolerance. Furthermore, emotion dysregulation heightened the relation between grandiose narcissism and aggression. These findings indicate that the theorized difficulty with self-regulation applies particularly to vulnerable, rather than grandiose, narcissism in adolescents. The findings are discussed in the context of potential regulatory processes in adolescent narcissism.

Introduction

The primary aim of this study was to investigate whether self-regulatory abilities (i.e., emotion regulation, distress tolerance) moderate the established associations between narcissism and behavioral and emotional functioning in adolescents, an issue not yet addressed in prior work in this area. Among other features, narcissism includes self-absorption, aggression, and exploitation of others (Brown, Freis, Carroll, & Arkin, 2016). According to the dynamic self-regulation model of narcissism proposed by Morf and Rhodewalt (2001), the antagonistic behavior associated with narcissism is thought to be an attempt to regulate self-esteem, particularly in the face of threatening social events. Moreover, from this perspective, individuals high in narcissism are described as emotionally labile and as having strong emotional reactions to self-referent feedback, particularly if the feedback is negative or distressing. To the extent that attempts at regulating emotional responses and one's self-perception are ineffective, narcissism may demonstrate associations with various forms of maladjustment such as aggression, internalizing problems, or impaired relationships.

Narcissism is often conceptualized along two separate facets: vulnerable and grandiose (A.L. Pincus & Lukowitsky, 2010). Vulnerable narcissism is characterized by hypersensitivity to others' opinions and clear distress, whereas grandiose narcissism involves attention-seeking behaviors, arrogance, and little observable distress (Caligory, Levy, & Yeomans, 2015). Both dimensions of narcissism involve impaired empathy (Baskin-Sommers, Krusemark, & Ronningstam, 2014), are oriented toward attaining superiority over others and being admired (Brown et al., 2016), and have shown associations with behavioral and emotional maladjustment in adolescents (e.g., C.T. Barry, Frick, Adler, & Grafeman, 2007; C.T. Barry & Lee-Rowland, 2015; Thomaes, Bushman, Stegge, & Olthof, 2008). Regulatory processes have been extensively discussed as an important for narcissism in adults. However, despite associations between narcissism and various areas of adolescent functioning, such constructs have not been examined in adolescents.

In adults, vulnerable narcissism has a stronger relation with acute depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation than does grandiose narcissism (Jaksic, Marcinko, Skocic Hanzek, Rebernjak, & Ogrodniczuk, 2017; Marcinko et al., 2014) and is also related to psychological distress, introversion, and feelings of inferiority (Kaufman, Weiss, Miller, & Campbell, 2018). Grandiose and vulnerable narcissism are linked to multiple aspects of adolescent adjustment but in somewhat different ways (e.g., C.T. Barry, Loflin, & Doucette, 2015; C.T. Barry, Anderson, & Charles, 2019). Both facets relate to anxiety (C.T. Barry et al., 2015) and aggression in adolescence. Grandiose narcissism is associated with self-reported aggression and peer-nominated relational aggression (i.e., aggression that targets another's social status; Golmaryami & Barry, 2009) in adolescents. However, vulnerable narcissism is also related to adolescent reactive aggression (i.e., aggression in response to a perceived threat; C.T. Barry et al., 2015). In short, research demonstrates clear connections between adolescent narcissism and adjustment with those relations being most consistent for aggression and anxiety. The mechanisms by which narcissism is associated with aggression and anxiety may point to maladaptive or impaired regulatory processes, particularly in the face of threatening social situations (Besser & Priel, 2010). Factors such as emotion regulation and distress tolerance may provide further context for understanding these relations, particularly insofar as each is connected to a host of behavioral and emotional impairments in late adolescence and early adulthood (Van Eck, Warren, & Flory, 2017).

Emotion regulation is conceptualized as “the extrinsic and intrinsic processes responsible for monitoring, evaluating, and modifying emotional reactions, especially their intensive and temporal features, to accomplish one's goals” (Thompson, 1994, p. 28). Morf and Rhodewalt (2001) described self-regulation in general as a concept relevant for both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, as the narcissistic self is fragile and as such needs to be constantly reinforced by external self-affirmation. Poor emotion regulation specifically may hinder these social goals. Prior research with adults has found a positive relation between vulnerable narcissism and dysregulation, but results pertaining to grandiose narcissism are mixed (Cheshure, Zeigler-Hill, Sauls, Vrabel, & Lehtman, 2020; Given-Wilson, McIlwain, & Warburton, 2011; Jonason & Krause, 2013; H. Zhang, Luo, Zhao, Zhang, & Wang, 2017; H. Zhang, Wang, You, Lü, & Luo, 2015). Emotion regulation is important for adolescent social functioning (e.g., peer relationships, prosocial behaviors, social competence), and dysregulation is implicated in the development and maintenance of psychopathology (i.e., anxiety, depression, aggression; Mclaughlin, Hatzenbuehler, Mennin, & Nolen-Hoeksema, 2011). Therefore, the consideration in the present study of emotion regulation in the context of narcissism, aggression, and internalizing problems in adolescents has potential utility in delineating what factors might heighten the associations between narcissism and maladjustment. This further understanding could, in turn, point to important targets of intervention for adolescents with narcissistic features.

Distress tolerance may also be relevant for the associations of narcissism with emotional and behavioral functioning. Distress tolerance has two broad conceptualizations: the perceived ability to withstand negative emotion and the behavioral act of combatting distressing internal states brought on by some stressor (Zvolensky, Vujanovic, Bernstein, & Leyro, 2010). Compared to emotion regulation, distress tolerance is thought be more specific in its connection to how one experiences and responds to negative affect with emotion regulation referring to a broader approach to managing emotions (Van Eck et al., 2017). In essence, distress tolerance describes a capacity to withstand negative emotions and avoid being absorbed by negative emotional experiences, whereas emotion regulation involves processes by which an individual monitors and manages the full range of emotional responses to various situations (Simons & Gaher, 2005). Distress tolerance is connected to emotion regulation in that those with poor distress tolerance skills often seek to avoid negative emotions and may attempt to rapidly alleviate these emotions through maladaptive regulatory processes (Batson, Fultz, & Schoenrade, 1987; Jeffries, McLeish, Kraemer, Avallone, & Fleming, 2016). In regards to narcissism, distress tolerance might reduce problematic responses (e.g., aggression) to specific stressful events such as ego threats. Effective emotion regulation, on the other hand, may assist someone with narcissism in managing and coping with more persistent concerns over social status.

Thus, given the established associations of adolescent narcissism with externalizing and internalizing problems, examination of moderating factors such as emotion regulation and distress tolerance will expand understanding of the association between narcissism and maladjustment in adolescents. In short, emotion dysregulation has been identified as a risk factor for psychological maladjustment and is associated with aggression, depression, anxiety, and borderline personality disorder (Bender, Reinholdt-Dunne, Esbjørn, & Pons, 2012; Feng et al., 2009; Roberton, Daffern, & Bucks, 2012; Stepp et al., 2014; H. Zhang et al., 2015). Similarly, lower levels of distress tolerance have been linked to higher rates of borderline personality disorder, depression, and anxiety sensitivity, as well as increased substance use and higher rates of antisocial personality disorder (Anestis, Selby, Fink, & Joiner, 2007; Buckner, Keough, & Schmidt, 2007; Daughters et al., 2009). Given the associations between these self-regulatory variables and other areas of maladjustment, their moderating effects may be relevant to the relations of narcissism with aggression and internalizing problems.

In light of the lack of research on adolescent narcissism in relation to distress tolerance, we sought to address this issue and specifically whether distress tolerance might mitigate the relation between narcissism and maladaptive functioning (e.g., aggression, anxiety). Insofar as distress tolerance may help adolescents cope with social stressors (e.g., ego threats), poor distress tolerance may exacerbate the connection of narcissism with aggression and internalizing problems. Lower levels of distress tolerance have been related to externalizing behaviors such as substance use and delinquent behavior, as well as internalizing symptoms such as anxiety and depression in adolescents (Daughters et al., 2009). Van Eck et al. (2017) found that internalizing symptom severity and suicidal ideation were significantly higher in individuals with lower levels of emotion regulation and distress tolerance. Thus, distress tolerance may be important in mitigating areas of maladjustment in adolescents that have been tied to narcissism.

In summary, further examination of emotion regulation and distress tolerance may be beneficial in improving our overall understanding of narcissism in adolescents, particularly regarding factors that may reduce the risk of maladjustment. Given the associations established by prior literature, we hypothesized that (1) vulnerable narcissism and emotion dysregulation would be positively correlated, (2) vulnerable narcissism and distress tolerance would be negatively correlated, (3) vulnerable narcissism would be positively correlated with anxiety, depression, suicidal ideation, and borderline symptoms, and that (4) emotion dysregulation and distress tolerance would exacerbate and mitigate, respectively, the relations of narcissism with aggression and anxiety. The above relations were also tested for grandiose narcissism, yet no a priori hypotheses were made given the mixed picture concerning grandiose narcissism with the moderators and adjustment variables of interest in this study.