The Higher Order Factor Structure and Gender Invariance of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory

Abstract

The Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) is a recently developed multidimensional inventory for the assessment of pathological narcissism. The authors describe and report the results of two studies that investigate the higher order factor structure and gender invariance of the PNI. The results of the first study indicate that the PNI has a higher order factor structure that conforms to the theoretical structure of pathological narcissism with one factor representing narcissistic grandiosity and the other capturing narcissistic vulnerability. These results uniquely place the PNI as the only measure to broadly assess the two phenotypic themes of pathological narcissism. In the second study, results from tests of measurement invariance indicate that the PNI performs similarly in large samples of men (n = 488) and women (n = 495). These results further establish the psychometric properties of the PNI and suggest that it is well suited for the assessment of pathological narcissism.

The factor structure and psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test.

“…For model comparisons, we used the chi-square difference and change in the CFI. If there was any discrepancy, we preferred the change in the CFI; we considered a change Յ.01 as being indicative of invariance (Cheung & Rensvold, 2002;Rast, Zimprich, Van Boxtel, & Jolles, 2009;Wright et al, 2010).…”

“…For the invariance comparison, we followed the procedure applied by Wright, Lukowitsky, Pincus, and Conroy (2010), which was based on the recommendations of Chen, Sousa, and West (2005). To do this, we first separately tested the hierarchical model shown in Figure 1 for men and women to determine whether the model fit each group.…”

Issues resolved and unresolved in pathological narcissism

“…Although the causes for this eruption of research on narcissistic vulnerability are difficult to pinpoint, early publications by different research groups [e.g., 3,28] and development of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory [5,32] were clear catalysts. Additional measures that include prominent vulnerability scales, such as the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory [6], followed several years later and have continued to fuel the trend.…”

Different coping strategies amongst individuals with grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic traits

“…Scoring of the PNI adhered to the method suggested by Wright, Lukowitsky, Pincus, and Conroy (2010) rather than that of the original. Narcissistic grandiosity traits were calculated by summing 'exploitative', 'grandiose fantasy', and 'self-sacrificing self-enhancement' factors, and narcissistic vulnerability traits by tallying 'contingent self-esteem', 'hiding the self', 'entitlement rage', and 'devaluing' factors.…”