A recent study published in the Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment sheds light on the core psychopathological features of malignant narcissism, revealing its strong associations with Machiavellianism and psychopathy. The findings confirm that malignant narcissism is primarily an antagonistic psychopathology, characterized by manipulation, deceit, and a lack of empathy.
“I researched malignant narcissism as part of my doctoral thesis in psychology at the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (Québec, Canada). One of my areas of interest is socially aversive (‘dark’) personalities, in which malignant narcissism falls into. My interest in studying the syndrome initially stemmed from increasing discussion on malignant narcissism in the media and popular discourse,” said study author Jonathan Faucher, a postdoctoral fellow at Laval University.
Public figures such as Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, and Saddam Hussein have been retrospectively analyzed and suggested to exhibit traits of malignant narcissism due to their grandiosity, lack of empathy, and sadistic behaviors. In contemporary times, commentators and analysts have similarly suggested that Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin display characteristics consistent with malignant narcissism.
“The syndrome has long been discussed in clinical/conceptual literature,” Faucher explained. “Still, there was very limited empirical research on malignant narcissism — so, the contrast between conceptual vs. empirical literature was particularly striking. Regarding the Dark Tetrad, it was also among my interests, as it also belongs to the dark side of personality. It has been proposed in literature that malignant narcissism and the Dark Tetrad might be especially close given that they are highly similar in nature (and in the components that they include). Thus, we were interested in empirically verifying this theoretical association.”
For their study, the researchers recruited a sample of 1,151 French-speaking participants from Quebec, Canada, using online methods such as social media, institutional mailing lists, and snowball sampling. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 84 years old and included 875 women, 261 men, and seven individuals of other gender identities.
Participants were asked to complete a series of self-report questionnaires designed to measure various personality traits and tendencies. The primary tool used to assess malignant narcissism was the Malignant Narcissism Based on Personality Inventory for DSM-5 Facets (MNARC-PID-5), a scoring procedure based on the Personality Inventory for DSM-5.
This inventory evaluates maladaptive personality facets across five domains: Negative Affectivity, Detachment, Antagonism, Disinhibition, and Psychoticism. The researchers focused on 11 facets central to malignant narcissism, including grandiosity, callousness, manipulativeness, hostility, suspiciousness, deceitfulness, irresponsibility, risk-taking, restricted affectivity, impulsivity, and attention-seeking.
“The first step of our research on malignant narcissism was to develop a measure to assess the syndrome, given that there were limited assessment methods that were practical and easy to use,” Faucher told PsyPost. “Details on the development of this instrument are documented in another paper in the Journal of Personality Assessment.”
“We used this measure in the current paper. Our goal with this instrument was to provide researchers and clinicians with a practical and flexible measure to assess malignant narcissism. We hope that this instrument, in conjunction with work from other groups, will foster additional research on malignant narcissism—which has been limitedly studied empirically at this point.”
To measure the dark personality traits, the participants completed the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (DTDD), which assesses Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy, and the Comprehensive Assessment of Sadistic Tendencies (CAST), which evaluates various forms of sadism. For paranoia, the Revised Green et al. Paranoid Thoughts Scale (R-GPTS) was used. This scale distinguishes between ideas of reference (the belief that others are talking about or conspiring against oneself) and persecutory thoughts (the belief that others intend to cause harm).
The study revealed that malignant narcissism is strongly associated with Machiavellianism and psychopathy. These traits were the most significant predictors of malignant narcissism, indicating that individuals with high levels of malignant narcissism tend to exhibit strategic manipulation, impulsivity, and a lack of empathy.
Narcissism and sadism also showed significant associations with malignant narcissism, though to a lesser extent. While grandiosity and attention-seeking behaviors inherent in narcissism are components of malignant narcissism, they were not as dominant as Machiavellianism and psychopathy. Similarly, sadism, characterized by deriving pleasure from others’ suffering, contributed to malignant narcissism but was less central than the other dark traits.
The researchers also found that ideas of reference, the less severe form of paranoia involving beliefs of others talking about or conspiring against oneself, were significantly associated with malignant narcissism. However, more severe persecutory thoughts did not show a strong association. This suggests that while individuals with malignant narcissism may experience social paranoia and mistrust, they might not exhibit the extreme paranoia typical of psychotic disorders.
“We compared components of the Dark Tetrad — Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, and sadism — as well as paranoia, to determine which of them are the most closely linked to malignant narcissism,” Faucher explained. “Our results highlight that malignant narcissism is particularly close (a) to psychopathy (e.g., shallowness, impulsivity, risk taking) and Machiavellianism (e.g., cynicism, utilitarian approach, unprincipledness); (2) followed by narcissism (e.g., grandiosity, attention seeking, entitlement); and (3) then by paranoia (e.g., mistrust, fear that others intend harm) and sadism (pleasure in others’ suffering).”
“Malignant narcissism is sometimes positioned as a variant of narcissistic personality disorder. Hence, it could have been expected that it would be particularly close to narcissism from the Dark Tetrad. However, our results instead highlight that malignant narcissism is especially close to psychopathy and Machiavellianism. We hypothesize that this is because we assessed narcissism with an instrument (the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen) that more specifically covers features of exhibitionism and attention-seeking—and while these tendencies are linked to malignant narcissism, they are not as salient as other impairments.”
“In brief, in malignant narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism appear to be predominant, followed by narcissism, and then by paranoia and sadism,” Faucher said. “However, as these are the first findings on the matter, it is important to note that additional results (and replication data) are mandatory to support this conclusion.”
For instance, the research focused on a nonclinical population, which might not fully capture the severity and nuances of malignant narcissism in clinical settings. Replicating these results in clinical populations would help to confirm the syndrome’s characteristics and associations.
The study also underscored the need for more comprehensive measures that can distinguish malignant narcissism from other related constructs like narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders. While the MNARC-PID-5 is a promising tool, its continued refinement and validation are crucial for advancing research and clinical practice.
“Malignant narcissism shares features with other psychopathologies and/or personality constructs,” Faucher told PsyPost. “A good example is the Dark Tetrad (constituted of Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism, sadism), which we studied in this research. Malignant narcissism is also conceptually close to other personality disorders, e.g., narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders (which we also studied and compared to malignant narcissism in another paper). Thus, an important next step, in our research on malignant narcissism, is further documenting its associations and distinctions from other closely related personality constructs.”
“For instance, although we studied the associations between malignant narcissism and the Dark Tetrad, it would also be necessary to compare these two personality constructs, to assess their degree of similarity and highlight their differences (i.e., what makes them unique, or distinguishes them). The same goes for the other personality disorders that I have mentioned — although we have uncovered distinctions between malignant narcissism, and narcissistic and antisocial personality disorders, additional data remain required to better understand the nuances between these similar disorders.”
The study, “Malignant Narcissism, the Dark Tetrad, and Paranoia: A Comparative Study Using Relative Importance Analyses,” Jonathan Faucher and Dominick Gamache.
