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. 2019 Mar 1:139:39-45.
doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2018.10.039. Epub 2018 Nov 9.

Narcissism and Devaluing Others: An Exploration of Impaired Control Over Drinking as a Mediating Mechanism of Alcohol-Related Problems

E S Naidu  1 , J Patock-Peckham  1 , A Ruof  1 , D Bauman  1 , P Banovich  1 , T Frohe  2 , R F Leeman  2   3
Affiliations

Narcissism and Devaluing Others: An Exploration of Impaired Control Over Drinking as a Mediating Mechanism of Alcohol-Related Problems

E S Naidu et al. Pers Individ Dif. .

Abstract

Devaluing or diminishing the worth of others is how many individuals destroy their relationships, such as by drinking beyond limits at inappropriate times and letting others down. Impaired control over drinking (IC) reflects consuming alcohol beyond predetermined limits. This investigation sought to determine whether facets of vulnerable narcissism (e.g., entitlement-rage, hiding-the-self, contingent-self-esteem, and devaluing) or narcissistic grandiosity (e.g. grandiose-fantasy, self-sacrificing-for-self-enhancement, and exploitativeness) were directly related to IC and indirectly related to drinking outcomes. We examined a path model of 759 university student drinkers. Our results show that while grandiose-fantasy (i.e., desire for special recognition) was negatively linked to IC, devaluing was positively linked to IC. In addition, men scored higher on exploitativeness (i.e., interpersonally manipulative for personal gain) than women. We conducted mediational analysis with asymmetric confidence intervals and a bias-corrected bootstrap technique. Mediational tests showed that higher levels of grandiose-fantasy were indirectly related to fewer alcohol-related problems through less IC and less heavy-episodic drinking. In contrast, higher levels of devaluing were indirectly related to more alcohol-related problems through more IC and heavy-episodic-drinking. Our results suggest that targeting thought processes in which people with Alcohol Use Disorders (AUDs) are actively devaluing others may be a good target for therapeutic intervention.

Keywords: Alcohol-Related Problem; Devaluing; Exploitativeness; Grandiose Fantasy; Heavy Episodic Drinking; Impaired Control Over Drinking; Narcissism.

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Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.
Conceptual model displays all hypothesized pathways in the structural equation model.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.
Fit model displaying all significant direct pathways with standardized beta coefficient estimates. N=759; * p.05, ** p.01, ***p.001.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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