Pathological Narcissism and Symptoms of Major Depressive Disorder Among Psychiatric Outpatients

Abstract Research is scarce regarding the mechanisms by which pathological narcissism––consisting of narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability––is linked with depression. The present study examined whether impaired emotional processing would mediate relations between pathological narcissism domains and depressive symptoms in a sample of 99 psychiatric outpatients. A significant indirect effect was found for narcissistic vulnerability on depressive symptoms, through unprocessed emotion as a mediator. Findings suggest that narcissistic vulnerability contributes to persistent and intrusive negative feelings, which in turn contribute to depressive symptom severity.