Gender Differences in Pathological Narcissism: Dependency and Grandiosity

Abstract

This study investigated gender differences in pathological narcissism in a survey of 354 college students using an immature narcissism scale. The results showed that women scored significantly higher on “dependence on others” than men, although men had significantly higher scores for “self-grandiosity.” In addition, men scored significantly higher on sense of basic trust and self-esteem, while women scored significantly higher on sense of interpersonal trust. For correlations between narcissism and a sense of basic trust, “dependence on others” had a significant negative correlation with sense of basic trust and self-esteem, while “self-grandiosity” had a significant positive correlation. The findings suggest that dependence is characteristic of pathological narcissism. Multiple regression analyses revealed that a sense of basic trust had a negative effect on “dependence on others” for both genders; however, for men, but not women, a sense of basic trust had a positive influence on “self-grandiosity.” In conclusion, the nature of pathological narcissism was suggested to be different for men and women.