Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Traits of pathological narcissism and dysfunctional eating in women: The role of perfectionistic discrepancy

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors are very common among women. Recent findings suggest that these attitudes are linked to traits of pathological narcissism. However, mechanisms underlying this association need to be elucidated. We investigated the relationship between traits of pathological narcissism and dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors in women, testing whether perfectionistic tendencies mediate this association. The study involved a community-based sample of women (N = 306) who completed measures of grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic traits, attitudes of perfectionistic discrepancy and perfectionistic self-presentation, and dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors. Results show that vulnerable narcissistic traits are linked to dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors. Moreover, discrepancy between the actual self and the ideal self partially explains why women high in vulnerable narcissism engage in dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors. Grandiose narcissism was not uniquely associated with dysfunctional eating. The study suggests that the narcissistic need for being perfect, but not the narcissistic need for presenting oneself as perfect to others, promotes dysfunctional eating attitudes and behaviors in women.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ackerman, R. A., Donnellan, M. B., & Wright, A. G. (2019). Current conceptualizations of narcissism. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 32(1), 32–37. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000463.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Al-Salom, P., & Boylan, K. (2019). Borderline personality disorder and disordered eating behaviour: The mediating role of rejection sensitivity. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 28(2), 72–81.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Altmann, T. (2017). Structure, validity, and development of a brief version of the narcissistic inventory-revised and its relation to current measures of vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. Personality and Individual Differences, 104, 207–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2016.08.009.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2006). Practice guideline for the treatment of patients with eating disorders, 3rd edition. American Journal of Psychiatry, 163(7), 1–128.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: Author.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bachar, E. (2005). Case illustration of the self-psychological treatment of eating disorders. Israel Journal of Psychiatry and Related Sciences, 42(3), 154–162.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bégin, C., Turcotte, O., & Rodrigue, C. (2019). Psychosocial factors underlying symptoms of muscle dysmorphia in a non-clinical sample of men. Psychiatry Research, 272, 319–325. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2018.12.120.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burkle, M. A., Ryckman, R. M., Gold, J. A., Thornton, B., & Audesse, R. J. (1999). Forms of competitive attitude and achievement orientation in relation to disordered eating. Sex Roles, 40, 853–870. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018873005147.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cain, N. M., Pincus, A. L., & Ansell, E. B. (2008). Narcissism at the crossroads: Phenotypic description of pathological narcissism across clinical theory, social/ personality psychology, and psychiatric diagnosis. Clinical Psychology Review, 28, 638–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2007.09.006.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, W. K. (2001). Is narcissism really so bad? Psychological Inquiry, 12, 214–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, W. K., & Foster, J. D. (2007). The narcissistic self: Background, an extended agency model, and ongoing controversies. In C. Sedikides & S. J. Spencer (Eds.), Frontiers of social psychology. The self (pp. 115–138). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa, J., Marôco, J., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Ferreira, C. (2016). Shame, self-criticism, perfectionistic self-presentation and depression in eating disorders. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 16(3), 315–328.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crowe, M. L., Lynam, D. R., Campbell, W. K., & Miller, J. D. (2019). Exploring the structure of narcissism: Toward an integrated solution. Journal of Personality, 87(6), 1151–1169. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12464

  • Davis, M., & Marsh, L. (1986). Self-love, self-control, and alexithymia: Narcissistic features of two bulimic adolescents. American Journal of Psychotherapy, 40(2), 224–232. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1986.40.2.224.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De Paoli, T., Fuller-Tyszkiewicz, M., Huang, C., & Krug, I. (2020). A network analysis of borderline personality disorder symptoms and disordered eating. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22916.

  • Di Pierro, R., Di Sarno, M., & Madeddu, F. (2017). Investigating the relationship between narcissism and emotion regulation difficulties: The role of grandiose and vulnerable traits. Clinical Neuropsychiatry, 14(3), 209–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Di Sarno, M., Zimmermann, J., Madeddu, F., Casini, E., & Di Pierro, R. (2020). Shame behind the corner? A daily diary investigation of pathological narcissism. Journal of Research in Personality, 85C, 103924. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.103924.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dixit, N., Patel, A., & Tiwari, S. (2015). The effect of narcissism on mental well-being in middle aged people. Indian Journal Of Social Science Researches, 12, 31–34.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eddy, K., Dorer, D., Franko, D., Tahilani, K., Thompson-Brenner, H., & Herzog, D. (2008). Diagnostic crossover in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa: Implications for DSM-V. American Journal of Psychiatry, 165(2), 245–250. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.07060951.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edershile, E. A., & Wright, A. G. C. (2019). Grandiose and vulnerable narcissistic states in interpersonal situations. Self and Identity., 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2019.1627241.

  • Edershile, E. A., Simms, L. J., & Wright, A. G. (2019). A multivariate analysis of the pathological narcissism inventory’s nomological network. Assessment, 26(4), 619–629.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Farstad, S., McGeown, L., & von Ranson, K. (2016). Eating disorders and personality, 2004–2016: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology Review, 46, 91–105. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.04.005.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferreira, C., Duarte, C., Pinto-Gouveia, J., & Lopes, C. (2018). The need to present a perfect body image: Development of a new measure of perfectionistic self-presentation. Current Psychology, 37(3), 559–567. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-016-9537-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L., Blankstein, K. R., & Gray, L. (1998). Psychological distress and the frequency of perfectionistic thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(5), 1363–1381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flett, G. L., Sherry, S. B., Hewitt, P. L., & Nepon, T. (2014). Understanding the narcissistic perfectionists among us: Grandiosity, vulnerability, and the quest for the perfect self. In A. Besser (Ed.), Psychology of emotions, motivations and actions. Handbook of the psychology of narcissism: Diverse perspectives (pp. 43–66). Hauppauge: Nova Science Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Garner, D. M., Olmsted, M. P., Bohr, Y., & Garfinkel, P. E. (1982). The eating attitudes test: Psychometric features and clinical correlates. Psychological Medicine, 12(04), 871–878. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0033291700049163.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gordon, K., & Dombeck, J. (2010). The associations between two facets of narcissism and eating disorder symptoms. Eating Behaviors, 11(4), 288–292. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2010.08.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grijalva, E., Newman, D. A., Tay, L., Donnellan, M. B., Harms, P. D., Robins, R. W., & Yan, T. (2015). Gender differences in narcissism: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 141(2), 261–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038231.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2018). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F., & Scharkow, M. (2013). The relative trustworthiness of inferential tests of the indirect effect in statistical mediation analysis: Does method really matter? Psychological Science, 24(10), 1918–1927. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797613480187.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., Sherry, S. B., Habke, M., Parkin, M., Lam, R. W., McMurtry, B., Ediger, E., Fairlie, P., & Stein, M. B. (2003). The interpersonal expression of perfection: Perfectionistic self-presentation and psychological distress. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(6), 1303–1325.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horvath, S., & Morf, C. C. (2009). Narcissistic defensiveness: Hypervigilance and avoidance of worthlessness. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1252–1258. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2009.07.011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Horvath, S., & Morf, C. C. (2010). To be grandiose or not to be worthless: Different routes to self-enhancement for narcissism and self-esteem. Journal of Research in Personality, 44(5), 585–592. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2010.07.002.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IBM Corp. Released (2017). IBM SPSS statistics for windows, version 25.0. Armonk: IBM Corp.

  • Kernberg, O. F. (1995). Technical approach to eating disorders in patients with borderline personality organization. Annual of Psychoanalysis, 23, 33–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lande, M. S., Rosenvinge, J. H., Skeie, G., & Rylander, C. (2019). Prevalence and correlates of self-reported disordered eating: A cross-sectional study among 90 592 middle-aged Norwegian women. PLoS One, 14(1), e0211056. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0211056.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macedo, A., Soares, M. J., Azevedo, M. H., Gomes, A., Pereira, A. T., Maia, B., & Pato, M. (2007). Perfectionism and eating attitudes in Portuguese University students. European Eating Disorders Review, 15(4), 296–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Martinussen, M., Friborg, O., Schmierer, P., Kaiser, S., Øvergård, K., Neunhoeffer, A., et al. (2017). The comorbidity of personality disorders in eating disorders: A meta-analysis. Eating and Weight Disorders - Studies On Anorexia, Bulimia And Obesity, 22(2), 201–209. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0345-x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, J., Lynam, D., Hyatt, C., & Campbell, W. (2017). Controversies in narcissism. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 13(1), 291–315. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-clinpsy-032816-045244.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ozer, D. J., & Benet-Martinez, V. (2006). Personality and the prediction of consequential outcomes. Annual Review of Psychology, 57, 401–421.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Patterson, R. E., Wang, K. T., & Slaney, R. B. (2012). Multidimensional perfectionism, depression and relational health in women with eating disturbances. Eating Behaviors, 13, 226–232. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2012.03.004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pincus, A. L., & Roche, M. J. (2011). Narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability. In W. K. Campbell & J. D. Miller (Eds.), The handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder: Theoretical approaches, empirical findings and treatments (pp. 31–40). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pincus, A. L., Ansell, E. B., Pimentel, C. A., Cain, N. M., Wright, A. G. C., & Levy, K. N. (2009). Initial construction and validation of the pathological narcissism inventory. Psychological Assessment, 21, 365–379. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016530.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raynal, P., Melioli, T., & Chabrol, H. (2016). Personality profiles in young adults with disordered eating behavior. Eating Behaviors, 22, 119–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2016.06.020.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rikani, A. A., Choudhry, Z., Choudhry, A. M., Ikram, H., Asghar, M. W., Kajal, D., Waheed, A., & Mobassarah, N. J. (2013). A critique of the literature on etiology of eating disorders. Annals of Neurosciences, 20(4), 157–161. https://doi.org/10.5214/ans.0972.7531.200409.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ronningstam, E. (2005). Identifying and understanding the narcissistic personality. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sands, S. H. (2000). Self psychology therapy. In K. Miller & J. S. Mizes (Eds.), Comparative treatments of eating disorders (pp. 182–206). London: Free Association Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sansone, R. A., & Sansone, L. A. (2013). Responses of mental health clinicians to patients with borderline personality disorder. Innovations in clinical neuroscience, 10(5–6), 39–43.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., Rudich, E., Gregg, A., Kumashiro, M., & Rusbult, C. (2004). Are normal narcissists psychologically healthy? Self-esteem matters. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 87(3), 400–416. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.87.3.400.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shenoy, S. K., & Praharaj, S. K. (2019). Borderline personality disorder and its association with bipolar spectrum and binge eating disorder in college students from South India. Asian Journal of Psychiatry, 44, 20–24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajp.2019.07.017.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sivanathan, D., Bizumic, B., Rieger, E., & Huxley, E. (2019). Vulnerable narcissism as a mediator of the relationship between perceived parental invalidation and eating disorder pathology. Eating And Weight Disorders - Studies On Anorexia, Bulimia And Obesity., 24, 1071–1077. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-019-00647-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Slaney, R. B., Rice, K. G., Mobley, M., Trippi, J., & Ashby, J. S. (2001). The revised almost perfect scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 34(3), 130–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Chen, S., Saklosfske, D. H., Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2016). Perfectionism and narcissism: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Research in Personality, 64, 90–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.07.012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stoeber, J., Sherry, S. B., & Nealis, L. J. (2015). Multidimensional perfectionism and narcissism: Grandiose or vulnerable?. Personality and Individual Differences, 80, 85–90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.02.027

  • Stoeber, J., Madigan, D. J., Damian, L. E., Esposito, R. M., & Lombardo, C. (2017). Perfectionism and eating disorder symptoms in female university students: The central role of perfectionistic self-presentation. Eating and Weight Disorders, 22(4), 641–648. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40519-016-0297-1.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Swami, V., Cass, L., Waseem, M., & Furham, A. (2015). What is the relationship between facets of narcissism and women's body image? Personality and Individual Differences, 87, 185–189. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.006.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Troop, N. A., Allan, S., Treasure, J. L., & Katzman, M. (2003). Social comparison and submissive behaviour in eating disorder patients. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 76(3), 237–249. https://doi.org/10.1348/147608303322362479.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2009). The narcissism epidemic: Living in the age of entitlement. New York: Simon & Schuster.

    Google Scholar 

  • Twenge, J. M., Konrath, S., Foster, J., Campbell, W. K., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Egos inflating over time: A cross-temporal meta-analysis of the narcissistic personality inventory. Journal of Personality, 76(4), 875–902. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2008.00507.x.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • von Känel, R., Herr, R., van Vianen, A., & Schmidt, B. (2017). Association of adaptive and maladaptive narcissism with personal burnout: Findings from a cross-sectional study. Industrial Health, 55(3), 233–242. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2016-0136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zeigler-Hill, V., & Besser, A. (2013). A glimpse behind the mask: Facets of narcissism and feelings of self-worth. Journal of Personality Assessment, 95(3), 249–260. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223891.2012.717150.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang, H., Wang, Z., You, X., Lü, W., & Luo, Y. (2015). Associations between narcissism and emotion regulation difficulties: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity as a moderator. Biological Psychology, 110, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2015.06.014.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza dell’Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy

    Rossella Di Pierro, Marco Di Sarno & Fabio Madeddu

  2. Personality Disorders Lab, Parma, Milan, Italy

    Rossella Di Pierro & Fabio Madeddu

  3. Milan, Italy

    Ivan Gargiulo

Authors
  1. Rossella Di Pierro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Marco Di Sarno
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ivan Gargiulo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Fabio Madeddu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rossella Di Pierro.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee in charge (reference number RM-2019-208) and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Di Pierro, R., Di Sarno, M., Gargiulo, I. et al. Traits of pathological narcissism and dysfunctional eating in women: The role of perfectionistic discrepancy. Curr Psychol 41, 5350–5357 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01054-y

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-01054-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation