EMPATHY, SEX-ROLE ORIENTATION, AND NARCISSISM

A narcissism model of sex roles was used to examine empathy and other forms of interpersonal reactivity. Questionnaires were administered to 141 males and 232 females sampled from an undergraduate population th at was 89% Caucasian and 11% mostly African-American minority. A Peer- Group Dependence measure of narcissistic idealization correlated predi ctably with femininity, empathy, and a communal orientation; and a Pse udoautonomy measure of narcissistic grandiosity displayed expected lin kages with masculinity and Machiavellianism. Multiple regressions conf irmed that the self could be defined in terms of both its mature and i mmature features; and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the narcissism model was somewhat superior to a sex roles model in describ ing the often complex interrelationships among measures of sex roles, narcissism, and interpersonal reactivity.