title: Narcissism, self-esteem, and defensive self-enhancement.
abstract: This study investigates the relationships among narcissism, self-esteem, and defensive self-enhancement in samples of 60, 84, 300, and 57 subjects. Using various self-report indices of these constructs we found that (a) defensive self-enhancement is composed of two orthogonal components: grandiosity and social desirability; (b) grandiosity and social desirability independently predict self-esteem and may represent distinct confounds in the measurement of self-esteem, (c) narcissism is positively related to grandiose self-enhancement (as opposed to social desirability), (d) narcissism is positively associated with both defensive and nondefensive self-esteem, and (e) authority, self-sufficiency, and vanity are the narcissistic elements most indicative of nondefensive self-esteem. The results are consistent with several theories that postulate a two-component model for self-esteem regulation and personality development.
authors.affiliation: Tulsa Institute of Behavioral Sciences.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Raskin
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Novacek
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hogan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003674:Defense Mechanisms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008950:MMPI / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008297:Male; D009289:Narcissism; D010556:Personality Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011594:Psychometrics; D012649:Self Concept; D012928:Social Desirability