Internalizing and externalizing problems in young adolescents: Associations with narcissistic traits and gender

Objective: Research globally supports the association between narcissism and externalizing problems, such as aggression, whereas the connection between narcissism and internalizing problems, such as depression or anxiety, is more controversial. Studies have been predominantly conducted on adult samples. Moreover, they usually neglected the vulnerable manifestations of narcissism, concentrating on grandiose overt aspects. The aim of the present study is to investigate the association of grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic traits with internalizing and externalizing problems in a sample of adolescents, considering gender as a potential moderator. Method: A sample of 635 youths (208 males; Mage = 15.81, SD = 1.31, age range = 13-19) completed the Pathological Narcissism Inventory for the assessment of narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability, and the Youth Self-Report for the assessment of internalizing and externalizing problems. Analyses were conducted to investigate the association between narcissistic grandiosity and both internalizing and externalizing problems respectively, testing the moderating role of gender, and controlling for narcissistic vulnerability. Results: Gender was associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems, with males displaying more externalizing features and females more internalizing ones. Grandiose narcissism was negatively associated with internalizing problems, and unrelated to externalizing. However, a marginally significant interaction with gender emerged in predicting externalizing tendencies, indicating that grandiose traits were positively associated with externalization in females, but not in males. Vulnerable narcissism was positively associated with both internalizing and externalizing problems. Conclusions: Vulnerable narcissistic traits are associated with increased problems, both internalizing and externalizing. Moreover, an effect of grandiose narcissism on externalization is only detectable when differentiating by gender: externalizing tendencies in male adolescents may be high, regardless of their narcissistic traits.