The Effects of Covert Narcissism on Midlife Crisis: The Three-way Moderating Effect of Self-Acceptance and Mentalization

Objectives This study examined the moderating effect of self-acceptance in the relationship between covert narcissism and midlife crisis, and verified the three-way moderating effect to determine whether mentalization moderates this. Methods A total of 409 adults aged 40 to 59 participated in the study. For data analysis, correlation analysis was performed using SPSS29.0 and PROCESS Macro 4.2, and the moderating effect and three-way moderating effect were verified. Results First, covert narcissism and self-acceptance, and self-acceptance and midlife crisis showed a significant negative correlation in each relationship. Mentalization showed a significant negative correlation with covert narcissism and midlife crisis, and a significant positive correlation with self-acceptance. Second, in the impact of covert narcissism on midlife crisis, self-acceptance was found to have a moderating effect in the relationship between the two variables. Third, The moderating effect of self-acceptance varied depending on the level of mentalization, and the three-way interaction was significant, thereby verifying the moderated control model. Conclusions This suggests that in the process where covert narcissism leads to a midlife crisis, even if mentalization and self-acceptance are low, interventions that increase self-acceptance may be effective in reducing the midlife crisis.