Associations between narcissistic traits and shame- and guilt-proneness

Even if shame has been conceptualized as a clinically relevant affect for narcissistic functioning, empirical associations with narcissism are inconsistent thoroughout research. This may be due to the tendency to assess narcissism in terms of overt and grandiose themes only. Moreover, shame is usually associated with guilt, but the role of guilt in narcissism is not equally emphasized by clinicians. A nonclinical sample of adults (N = 367, Mage = 33.67, SD = 13.62) completed the Personal Feelings Questionnaire-2 for the assessment of shame- and guilt-proneness, and the Pathological Narcissism Inventory for the assessment of both narcisssistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability. Two multiple linear regressions were conducted to evaluate the associations between narcissistic traits and shame- and guilt-proneness. Analyses were conducted controlling for gender, and for guilt- and shame-proneness respectively. Results showed that while narcissistic grandiosity was negatively associated with shame-proneness, narcissistic vulnerability was positively associated with it. On the other hand, no association emerged between vulnerable or grandiose narcissism with guilt-proneness, after controlling for shame-proneness. Shame-proneness seems to be more relevant than guilt-proneness for narcissistic functioning. Moreover, individuals high in narcissistic grandiosity may be less likely to consciously experience and report feelings of shame.