The (not so) vicious cycle of national narcissism: emotional antecedents and outcomes

• National narcissism is not predicted by unpleasant emotional states. • Holding national narcissistic beliefs positively predicts subsequent stress. • The overall pattern of associations was consistent across demographic groups. National narcissism—an emotionally invested belief in a nation’s unrecognized greatness—has been linked to negative emotionality, such as stress and depressive symptoms, yet the directionality of this relationship remains unclear. Using a two-wave cross-lagged panel model on Czech young adults (N = 688), we test whether national narcissism and negative emotionality form a vicious cycle or whether their association is asymmetric. We also examine whether these associations vary by age cohort or socioeconomic status. Results reveal that national narcissism predicts only higher stress, whereas neither stress nor depressive symptoms predicts subsequent national narcissism. This pattern was consistent across demographic groups. These findings challenge existing cross-sectional interpretations and suggest that reducing unpleasant emotional states alone is unlikely to weaken national narcissistic beliefs.