Feeling fine about being impaired: Narcissism, impairment and wellbeing

Abstract

People's life impairments can create decrements in wellbeing that can motivate people to seek productive changes. Classic perspectives on narcissism presume that narcissistic individuals are too unconcerned with their impairments (e.g., they presumably “feel fine” despite the impairment); however, in light of the “antagonistic-buffering hypothesis” (the idea that people with antagonistic personality features suffer less decrements in wellbeing from their impairments), we tested whether only antagonistic narcissism (rather than neurotic or agentic narcissism) would buffer people against the decrements in wellbeing that arise from life impairment. Participants (N = 437) completed validated measures of narcissistic antagonism, narcissistic agency, and narcissistic neuroticism along with impairment in various life domains and two signifiers of wellbeing (life satisfaction and self-esteem). Results supported the antagonistic-buffering hypothesis: although narcissistic antagonism and neuroticism were each associated with greater impairment, only narcissistic antagonism reduced the negative association between impairment and wellbeing. The findings support the application of the antagonistic-buffering hypothesis to narcissism and, in turn, provide a better understanding of the complex interplay between narcissism, impairment, and wellbeing.