Self-Perceptions of Empathy and Social Support as Potential Moderators in the Relation between Adolescent Narcissism and Aggression

The present study investigated social support, empathy, and aggression as a function of adolescent grandiose, vulnerable, and non-pathological narcissism. Participants (N = 185) were adolescents (159 male, 26 female), ages 16 to 18, enrolled in a residential program for youth who had dropped out of school. Grandiose narcissism was positively associated with reports of social support and empathy. Each narcissism dimension was positively correlated with self-reported aggression, but vulnerable narcissism and non-pathological narcissism predicted unique variance in aggression. Furthermore, the association between each form of narcissism and aggression was exacerbated by low self-reported empathy. The implications of these findings for advancing understanding of the relation between adolescent narcissism and aggression are discussed.