Defense mechanisms and social mentalities in grandiose narcissism: an empirical investigation

Grandiose narcissism is increasingly conceptualized as encompassing two dimensions: admiration and rivalry. Clarifying how these aspects are shaped requires attention to the intrapsychic regulators and interpersonal motivational systems that organize narcissistic functioning. A total of 478 participants completed an online survey including the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ), the Defense Mechanisms Rating Scale-Self Report-30 (DMRS-SR-30), and the Social Mentalities Scale (SMS). Rivalry showed a stronger negative association with overall defensive functioning (ODF; r=−0.34, p<.001) compared to admiration (r=−0.09, p<.05). At the interpersonal level, rivalry was positively associated with insecurity (r=0.25, p<.001) and agonism (r=0.48, p<.001), and negatively with prosociality (r=−0.30, p<.001), belongingness (r=−0.28, p<.001), and playfulness (r=−0.23, p<.001). Admiration, in contrast, was positively associated with agonism (r=0.42, p<.001) and sexuality (r=0.23, p<.001). The mediation analysis (moderated by gender) indicated that defensive functioning impacted narcissistic expression through specific interpersonal motivational systems: insecurity (βmales=0.036, p=.040; βfemales=0.055, p=.009), prosociality (βmales=−0.033, p=.033; βfemales=−0.085, p=.002), and agonism (βmales=−0.163, p=<.001; βfemales=−0.132, p=.001). The study expands theoretical and clinical knowledge of the underlying motivations and defense mechanisms involved in grandiose narcissism, shedding light on specific intrapsychic and relational processes underpinning narcissistic dynamics.