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.