Narcissus under uncertainty: A network analysis of perfectionism, narcissism, intolerance of uncertainty, and psychological distress in young adults

Perfectionism, intolerance of uncertainty, and narcissism have been linked to psychological distress in young adults, but their conditional associations remain unclear. The present study used network analysis to explore interrelations among these constructs in 535 young Italian adults (59.4% women; mean age = 23.89 years). A regularized Gaussian graphical model (EBICglasso) was estimated, alongside Exploratory Graph Analysis (EGA) and sensitivity analyses. Depressive symptoms showed the highest strength, whereas vulnerable narcissism exhibited the highest expected influence and the highest bridge-centrality values under the four theoretically defined communities. However, its bridge strength was not statistically distinguishable from that of depressive symptoms and inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty. Centrality and bridge-centrality estimates showed adequate stability, and sensitivity analyses generally supported the main network pattern. EGA identified three communities, with socially prescribed perfectionism clustering with narcissism and intolerance of uncertainty, although this community showed limited bootstrap stability. Overall, the findings provide insights into the associations among perfectionism, narcissism, intolerance of uncertainty, and psychological distress, while highlighting the sensitivity of bridge-centrality estimates to community specification. Longitudinal and replication studies are needed to determine the stability and generalizability of these patterns.