SELF-REPORTED NARCISSISM AND SHAME - TESTING THE DEFENSIVE SELF-ESTEEM AND CONTINUUM HYPOTHESES

Inverse correlations of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) w ith shame theoretically reflect a defensive self-esteem or a healthier form of narcissism that helps define a continuum of self-functioning. In the present study, the NPI correlated directly with self-esteem; a nd inverse associations with shame were reduced or eliminated when sel f-esteem was entered into multiple regressions before the NPI. The def ensive self-esteem hypothesis predicts that the NPI and self-esteem sh ould interact in predicting shame, but this did not occur. Other measu res of narcissism like the O'Brien (1987) Multiphasic Narcissism Inven tory and the Pseudoautonomy Scale were associated with lower self-este em and greater shame. Overall, these data supported the hypothesis tha t self-report measures of narcissism help define a continuum of unheal thy to healthy self-functioning. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science L td.