Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissism in Borderline Personality Disorder

Abstract

Background: Little is known about narcissistic traits in borderline personality disorder (BPD). This exploratory study aimed to illustrate the associations between total, grandiose, and vulnerable narcissism and gender, diagnostic features of BPD and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), and psychopathology in BPD patients. Sampling and Methods: The Pathological Narcissism Inventory and psychometric measures for impulsivity, anger, borderline symptom severity, personality organization, depression, and rejection sensitivity were completed by 65 BPD patients. Statistical analyses were conducted using the t test, Pearson correlation, and multivariate regression analyses. Results: Male BPD patients displayed higher narcissistic scores than females (p < 0.01). Grandiose narcissism showed a stronger association with NPD than with BPD (p < 0.01) while vulnerable narcissism was only associated with BPD (p < 0.01). Rejection sensitivity (p < 0.01) and depression (p < 0.001) predicted vulnerable narcissism. Conclusion: Vulnerable narcissism is closely associated with BPD and appears to be more dysfunctional than grandiose narcissism. A comprehensive consideration of both traits is recommended. Our results might help to generate hypotheses for further research on pathological narcissism in the spectrum of personality disorders. Future studies are advised to apply complementary measures and take new diagnostic approaches of DSM-5 and ICD-11 into account.

Living with pathological narcissism: a qualitative study

“…For instance, the nodes of 'hypersensitivity', 'insecurity' and 'affective instability' reflect dimensions covered in the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale [51] and neuroticism within the Five Factor Narcissism Inventory [52]. These aspects of narcissism have also been documented within published literature [12,27,53,54].…”

“…The vulnerable dimension of narcissism, with its internal feelings of emptiness and emotion dysregulation, may reflect a more general personality pathology similar to that of borderline personality disorder (BPD) [26]. For instance, Euler, Stobi [27] found grandiose narcissism to be related to NPD, but vulnerable narcissism to be related to BPD. In a similar vein, Hörz-Sagstetter, Diamond [28] proposes grandiosity as a narcissistic 'specific' factor that distinguishes it from other disorders (e.g.…”

The Higher the Score, the Darker the Core: The Nonlinear Association Between Grandiose and Vulnerable Narcissism

“…To test for discriminant validity, we also reverse the segmented regression analysis, testing for a change in slope in the relationship between vulnerability and grandiosity as a function of vulnerability. We predict that high vulnerability will be independent from grandiosity at the upper end of vulnerable narcissism, as narcissistic vulnerability was previously found to relate to borderline personality features ( Miller et al, 2010 ; Wright and Edershile, 2017 ; Euler et al, 2018 ).…”

“…Moreover, vulnerable narcissism is associated with experiencing less positive and more negative affect ( Miller et al, 2011 , 2017 ). Consequently, it is accompanied by a broad range of internalizing symptoms, including anxiety and depression ( Miller et al, 2011 , 2017 ; Euler et al, 2018 ; Kaufman et al, in press ), and is closely tied to borderline personality features ( Miller et al, 2010 ; Euler et al, 2018 ).…”

Mentalisierungsbasierte Therapie bei Narzisstischer Persönlichkeitsstörung

“…"dickhäutigen" oder "offenen" Phänotyp der NPS weitgehend anerkannt [7]. Diese Ansätze unterstreichen eine dimensionale Konzeptualisierung von Narzissmus und haben weitgehende klinische Implikationen, da sich "grandiose" und "vulnerable" Patienten hinsichtlich Psychopathologie, Inanspruchnahme von Gesundheitsleistungen und Gegenübertragungsreaktionen unterscheiden [8].…”