Comparing Clinical and Social‐Personality Conceptualizations of Narcissism

2008/04/08 by Joshua D. Miller, W. Keith Campbell · 635 citations
Psychology · #Big Five personality traits #Clinical psychology #Conceptualization #Developmental psychology #Distress #Extraversion and introversion #Grandiosity #Interpersonal communication #Narcissism #Narcissistic personality disorder #Personality #Personality Assessment Inventory #Personality Disorders and Psychopathology #Personality Traits and Psychology #Personality disorders #Psychology #Social psychology

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00492.x

published in Journal of Personality 76(3), 449-476 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 2008/04/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/30

Abstract

There is a lack of consensus surrounding the conceptualization of narcissism. The present study compared two measures of narcissism-one used in clinical settings (Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire, PDQ-4+; Hyler, 1994) and one used in social-personality research (Narcissistic Personality Inventory, NPI; Raskin & Terry, 1988)-across two samples. Sample 1 (N=271) was composed of undergraduates, whereas Sample 2 (N=211) was composed of parents of the Sample 1 participants. The scales were significantly interrelated but manifested divergent relations with general personality traits, personality disorders (including expert prototypal ratings of narcissism), recollections of parenting received, and psychological distress and self-esteem. PDQ-4 narcissism captured an emotionally unstable, negative-affect-laden, and introverted variant of narcissism; NPI narcissism captured an emotionally resilient, extraverted form. The clinical and social-personality conceptualizations of narcissism primarily share a tendency to use an antagonistic interpersonal style. Implications for the DSM-V are discussed.

Citations

• Resilience in the Face of Catastrophe: Optimism, Personality, and Coping in the Kosovo Crisis
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