CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 1,334Personality Disorders and PsychopathologyPersonality Traits and PsychologyPsychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research

Initial construction and validation of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory.

Pincus, Aaron L., Ansell, Emily B., Pimentel, Claudia A., Cain, Nicole M., Wright, Aidan G. C., Levy, Kenneth N.·2009·Psychological Assessment
DOI 10.1037/a0016530
Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

The construct of narcissism is inconsistently defined across clinical theory, social-personality psychology, and psychiatric diagnosis. Two problems were identified that impede integration of research and clinical findings regarding narcissistic personality pathology: (a) ambiguity regarding the assessment of pathological narcissism vs. normal narcissism and (b) insufficient scope of existing narcissism measures. Four studies are presented documenting the initial derivation and validation of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI). The PNI is a 52-item self-report measure assessing 7 dimensions of pathological narcissism spanning problems with narcissistic grandiosity (Entitlement Rage, Exploitativeness, Grandiose Fantasy, Self-sacrificing Self-enhancement) and narcissistic vulnerability (Contingent Self-esteem, Hiding the Self, Devaluing). The PNI structure was validated via confirmatory factor analysis. The PNI correlated negatively with self-esteem and empathy, and positively with shame, interpersonal distress, aggression, and borderline personality organization. Grandiose PNI scales were associated with vindictive, domineering, intrusive, and overly-nurturant interpersonal problems, and vulnerable PNI scales were associated with cold, socially avoidant, and exploitable interpersonal problems. In a small clinical sample, PNI scales exhibited significant associations with parasuicidal behavior, suicide attempts, homicidal ideation, and several aspects of psychotherapy utilization.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1037/a0016530

Cites

100 of 100 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Significant associations between narcissistic features and identity instability have been established, with narcissism being linked with inflated but unstable representations of self.

    “More recently, significant associations between narcissistic features and identity instability have also been established, with narcissism being linked with inflated but unstable representations of self [19, 22, 65, 71].”

    From “It’s not you, it’s me”: identity disturbance as the main contributor to interpersonal problems in pathological narcissism (2023) · cites this paper as [65]

  • The PNI captures narcissistic vulnerability in three factors: contingent self-esteem, devaluing, and hiding the self.

    “Pincus, Ansell [13] developed the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI) to capture this narcissistic vulnerability in three factors.”

    From Living with pathological narcissism: a qualitative study (2020) · cites this paper as [13]

  • In narcissistic personality disorder, hypersensitivity to the evaluations of others and fluctuation in self-esteem between grandiose and depleted states are associated with an increased risk of both suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury.

    “In narcissistic personality disorder, there is frequently a hypersensitivity to the evaluations of others and a fluctuation in the self-esteem between grandiose and depleted states, depending on life circumstances [16, 17]; these are personality features associated with an increased risk of both suicidal and non-suicidal self-injury [18, 19].”

    From Euthanasia and assisted suicide in patients with personality disorders: a review of current practice and challenges (2020) · cites this paper as [18]

  • Grandiose and vulnerable aspects are intrinsically correlated in the PNI.

    “For instance, grandiose and vulnerable aspects are intrinsically correlated in the PNI (Pincus et al., 2009)”

    From The Relationship between Grandiose and Vulnerable (Hypersensitive) Narcissism (2017) · cites this paper as Pincus et al., 2009

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Pincus, A. L., Ansell, E. B., Pimentel, C. A., Cain, N. M., Wright, A. G. C., & Levy, K. N.
Affiliations
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
  • Yale University (US)
ORCID
Venue
Psychological Assessment
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2009-09
Volume
21
Issue
3
Pages
365-379
ISSN
  • 1040-3590 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-134X
DOI
10.1037/a0016530
OpenAlex
W2049518862
Cited by
1,334
References
100
Citations by year
2026: 89 · 2025: 84 · 2024: 92 · 2023: 86 · 2022: 86 · 2021: 107 · 2020: 136 · 2019: 98 · 2018: 117 · 2017: 72 · 2016: 87 · 2015: 70 · 2014: 49 · 2013: 48 · 2012: 41
FWCI
38.99
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • Psychological Assessment (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Rutgers University Community Repository (Rutgers University) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Pennsylvania State University
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
Keywords
Pathological Narcissism Inventory, pathological narcissism, narcissistic personality disorder, narcissistic grandiosity, narcissistic vulnerability, self-esteem, empathy, shame, aggression, borderline personality organization, parasuicide, suicide attempts, homicidal ideation, psychotherapy utilization, self-report measure development
MeSH terms
Adult, Aggression, Empathy, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Narcissism, Personality Disorders, Personality Inventory, Psychotherapy, Self-Assessment, Self Concept, Self Disclosure, Shame, Social Behavior, Students, Reproducibility of Results, Principal Component Analysis, Young Adult

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review