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Narcissism and selfie-posting behavior: the mediating role of body satisfaction and the moderating role of attitude toward selfie-posting behavior

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Abstract

Although recent studies have documented that narcissism is associated with selfie-posting behavior, little is known about the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relation. The present study aimed to examine whether body satisfaction mediated the relation between narcissism and selfie-posting behavior, and whether this mediating process was moderated by attitude toward selfie-posting behavior. A sample of 382 Chinese young adults completed questionnaires on narcissism, body satisfaction, selfie-posting behavior, and attitude toward selfie-posting behavior. The results indicated that body satisfaction mediated the association between narcissism and selfie-posting behavior. In addition, attitude toward selfie-posting behavior moderated the relation between body satisfaction and selfie-posting behavior. Specifically, the path from body satisfaction to selfie-posting behavior was significant for individuals with positive attitude toward selfie-posting behavior, while it became nonsignificant for those with negative attitude. Findings of the present study highlight the significance of identifying the mechanisms that moderate the mediated paths between narcissism and selfie-posting behavior.

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Acknowledgements

The present study was supported by the Key Research Institute in Humanities and Social Sciences of the Ministry of Education (Academy of Psychology and Behavior, Tianjin Normal University) (14JJD190005) and the Key Project of Social Science Fund of Beijing, China (15SHA005). There is no financial interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Center of Internet + Social Psychology, Department of Psychology, Renmin University of China, No. 59 Zhongguancun Street, Haidian District, Beijing, 100872, China

    Yuhui Wang, Xingchao Wang, Pengcheng Wang, Jia Nie & Li Lei

  2. School of Psychology, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, 130024, China

    Xiaochun Xie

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  1. Yuhui Wang
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  2. Xiaochun Xie
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  3. Xingchao Wang
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  4. Pengcheng Wang
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Correspondence to Li Lei.

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Wang, Y., Xie, X., Wang, X. et al. Narcissism and selfie-posting behavior: the mediating role of body satisfaction and the moderating role of attitude toward selfie-posting behavior. Curr Psychol 39, 665–672 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9795-9

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