On The Narcissistic Personality and Family Relationship

Abstract

　Narcissistic tendency seems to prevail among young people in modern society and has apparently influenced on many various aspects of human relationship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between the narcissistic personality and family relationship.

　Japanese versions of Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), family communication scale, family satisfaction scale, and Cattel’s Anxiety Scale were administered to 56 male and 65 female college students.

　The remarkable results were as follows.

　1. The data of NPI was factor-analyzed, and five factors were found.

　(1) sense of superiority and ability,

　(2) self-publicity,

　(3) self-conceit,

　(4) egoism,

　(5) nervousness to others’ evaluation of self.

　The internal consistency of NPI was found to be at the sufficient level.

　2. Male students’ scores of NPI and its sub-scales indicated higher than female students’ scores. And the eldest childs’ scores of NPI indicated higher than the others.

　3. There was significant negative relation between anxiety and sense of superiority and ability, but significant positive relation was found between anxiety and egoism. Therefore, it is suggested that the relation between anxiety and narcissistic personality is complex and ambivalent. And by path-analysis, the direct and indirect influence of narcissistic personality on family satisfaction were found. In indirect influence paths, anxiety and family communication acted as parameters.