The Factor Structure of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Seventy-seven female and 86 male psychologist practitioners filled out the Bem Sex Rote Inventory to describe either a healthy adult male, healthy adult female, or healthy adult, sex unspecified. Analyzing the data according to Bem's classification of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny produced a significant Scale X Condition interaction with male and female practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine than feminine traits to healthy adult men, yet displaying no comparable differences when rating healthy adult women. Analyzing the data according to Spence's classification of masculine, feminine, androgynous, and undifferentiated produced a Group X Condition interaction with practitioners ascribing significantly more masculine traits to healthy adult men and significantly more feminine traits to healthy adult women. Reanalyses omitting "masculine" and "feminine" from Bem's fist of sex-typed traits produced nonsignificant results. The relationship of this to recent criticisms of the construct validity of the BSRI and to the validity of earlier results of therapist sex-role bias was discussed.     

Factor analysis and construct validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Three studies are reported which provide evidence for the validity of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI). Factor analysis of the NPI in Study 1 revealed four factors which were labelled: Exploitativeness/Entitlement, Leadership/Authority, Superiority/Arrogance, and Self-absorption/Self-admiration. In Study 2, scores on the NPI were correlated with basic dimensions of personality, and with relevant self-variables. Narcissism scores were positively related to dominance, exhibitionism, extraversion, self-esteem, and self-monitoring, among others; and negatively related to abasement, deference, and social anxiety, among others. Correlations between the NPI factors and personality variables are also examined. In Study 3, peer ratings of narcissism were obtained and it was found that these were strongly related to scores on the NPI. Taken together, the three studies provide considerable evidence for the construct validity of the NPI, and avenues for future research are suggested.     

Narcissistic Personality Inventory: Structure of the adapted Dutch version

Barelds, D. P. H. & Dijkstra, P. (2009). Narcissistic Personality Inventory: Structure of the adapted Dutch version. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 132–138. The present study examined the structure of a Dutch adaptation of the 40‐item Narcissistic Personality Inventory ( Raskin & Terry, 1988 ) in a community sample (n = 460) and a student sample (n = 515). Altering the response format of the NPI to a Likert‐scale had no apparent effect on the responses. Confirmatory factor analyses supported neither the four‐factor structure reported by Emmons (1984) , nor the seven‐factor structure reported by Raskin and Terry (1988) . Instead, exploratory factor analyses supported either a single‐factor solution (general narcissism), or a two‐factor solution (Authority/Power and Self‐Admiration). The validity of the NPI was supported by its relations with sex, age, personality, self‐esteem, shame, guilt and social desirability.     

Narcissism and empathy: validity evidence for the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Three empathy questionnaires were correlated with scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), and the predicted negative relationship was observed in two of the three cases. In addition, the Exploitiveness/Entitlement (E/E) subscale of the NPI was inversely related to all three empathy scales and directly related to another hypothesized measure of narcissism. Unexpected negative correlations between the E/E subscale and social desirability scales were interpreted as evidence of E/E subscale sensitivity to the manipulative dimension of narcissistic relationship styles. These data further support the construct validity of the NPI in general and of the Exploitiveness/Entitlement subscale in particular.     

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory: alternative form reliability and further evidence of construct validity

The aim of this study was twofold: (a)to measure the alternate form reliability of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and (b)to determine its construct validity by correlating it with the four scales of the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). The alternate form reliability was .72. The Extraversion and Psychoticism scales of the EPQ were positively and significantly correlated with the narcissism measure, and the Lie scale showed a significant negative correlation. The Neuroticism scale showed a nonsignificant relationship with narcissism. In addition, the combined Extraversion and Psychoticism scales produced[ a Multiple R with the narcissism measure that accounted for significantly more of the variance in narcissism than did either measure alone.     

Egos inflating over time: a cross-temporal meta-analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

ABSTRACT A cross-temporal meta-analysis found that narcissism levels have risen over the generations in 85 samples of American college students who completed the 40-item forced-choice Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) between 1979 and 2006 (total n =16,475). Mean narcissism scores were significantly correlated with year of data collection when weighted by sample size (β=.53, p <.001). Since 1982, NPI scores have increased 0.33 standard deviation. Thus, almost two-thirds of recent college students are above the mean 1979–1985 narcissism score, a 30% increase. The results complement previous studies finding increases in other individualistic traits such as assertiveness, agency, self-esteem, and extraversion.     

Testing the latent factor structure and construct validity of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory

Recent efforts have aimed to develop relatively short measures of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, particularly for when time and/or space is limited. We evaluate the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), a non-proprietary FFM measure with two items per dimension. We use a latent variable methodology to examine the TIPI’s factor structure and convergent validity with the 50-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) FFM measure. We provide correlations between the scale scores and latent factors, and compare each measure’s pattern of correlations with measures of other individual difference constructs. Results were favorable in terms of the factor structure and convergent validity of the TIPI, particularly regarding the correlations between the respective latent factors of the TIPI and the IPIP–FFM measures.     

Testing the latent factor structure and construct validity of the Ten-Item Personality Inventory

Recent efforts have aimed to develop relatively short measures of the Five-Factor Model (FFM) of personality, particularly for when time and/or space is limited. We evaluate the Ten-Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), a non-proprietary FFM measure with two items per dimension. We use a latent variable methodology to examine the TIPI’s factor structure and convergent validity with the 50-item International Personality Item Pool (IPIP) FFM measure. We provide correlations between the scale scores and latent factors, and compare each measure’s pattern of correlations with measures of other individual difference constructs. Results were favorable in terms of the factor structure and convergent validity of the TIPI, particularly regarding the correlations between the respective latent factors of the TIPI and the IPIP–FFM measures.     

Gender Differences in the Structure of Narcissism: A Multi-Sample Analysis of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

Multi-sample analysis of the Emmons factor modelof the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) was usedto test the prediction that exploitive tendencies andfeelings of entitlement are less central to the construct of narcissism among females thanthey are among males. As predicted, the hypothesis ofcross-gender equivalence of the Emmons factorvariance/covariance matrixwas rejected. Follow-upanalyses confirmed thatthis hypothesis was rejectedprimarily because Exploitiveness/Entitlement showedweaker correlations with the other Emmons factors amongfemales that it did among males. Results are discussed in terms of such factors as norms regardingappropriate sex role conduct, as well as the powerdifferential between males and females.     

Equivalence of Narcissistic Personality Inventory constructs and correlates across scoring approaches and response formats

The prevalent scoring practice for the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) ignores the forced-choice nature of the items. The aim of this study was to investigate whether findings based on NPI scores reported in previous research can be confirmed when the forced-choice nature of the NPI’s original response format is appropriately modeled, and when NPI items are presented in different response formats (true/false or rating scale). The relationships between NPI facets and various criteria were robust across scoring approaches (mean score vs. model-based), but were only partly robust across response formats. In addition, the scoring approaches and response formats achieved equivalent measurements of the vanity facet and in part of the leadership facet, but differed with respect to the entitlement facet.     

A Comparison of the Nomological Networks Associated With Forced-Choice and Likert Formats of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is one of the most popular measures of narcissism. However, its use of a forced-choice response set might negatively affect some of its psychometric properties. The purpose of this research was to compare a Likert version of the NPI, in which only the narcissistic response of each pair was given, to the original NPI, in 3 samples of participants (N = 1,109). To this end, we compared the nomological networks of the forced-choice and Likert formats of the NPI in relation to alternative measures of narcissism, narcissistic personality disorder, entitlement, self-esteem, general personality traits (reported by self and informants), interpersonal styles, and general pathological traits included in the DSM–5. The Likert format NPI—total and subscales—manifested similar construct validity to the original forced-choice format across all criteria with only minor differences that seem to be due mainly to the increased reliability and variability found in the Likert NPI Entitlement/Exploitativeness subscale. These results provide evidence that a version of the NPI that employs a Likert format can justifiably be used in place of the original.     

Etiology of the Masochistic and Narcissistic Personality

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Uncovering personality structure with the Inventory of Personality Organization: An exploration of factor structure with a Portuguese sample

IntroductionThe Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO) is a self-report measure intended to assess the severity of personality disturbance according to Otto F. Kernberg's model.ObjectiveTo study factor structure and psychometric properties of the Portuguese version of IPO (IPO-Pt).MethodTwo independent samples of 586 individuals each were used for exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Different models were compared in terms of reliability and validity.ResultsA three-factor solution resulted, comprising dimensions labeled as Instability of Self, Instability of Others, and Psychosis. Internal consistency and temporal stability yielded acceptable to excellent results. Correlations with measures of self-concept coherence, emotion dysregulation, psychoticism, symptom severity, and personality disturbance were as expected, and sensitivity to clinical status was confirmed.ConclusionIPO-Pt shows encouraging psychometric qualities and its latent structure resonates with important aspects of Kernberg's model, previous findings, and the DSM-5 level of personality functioning scale.     

God Diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder

This article endorses the contention that God suffers from a mental disorder, but challenges J. Henry Jurgens’ diagnosis of bipolar disorder as reported in The Onion (“God diagnosed with bipolar disorder”, 2001) and proposes narcissistic personality disorder instead. It uses the diagnostic criteria for narcissistic personality disorder from The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders—DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, 1994) and various biblical citations in support of this diagnosis. It rejects the idea that a major personality change is reflected in the New Testament and claims that God did not experience a major transformation of his narcissistic personality structure as described by Heinz Kohut (Forms and transformations of narcissism, in A. P. Morrison, Ed., Essential papers on narcissism, pp. 61–87, New York University Press, New York, 1966/1986). However, it concludes that God’s creativity accounts for the stability of his narcissistic personality structure and helps to explain his lack of empathy toward human beings.