We sought to examine the associations between grandiose (GN) and vulnerable (VN) subtypes of narcissism and body dissatisfaction (BD), and moderation of these associations by sex, in young men and women, controlling for self-esteem (SE). Three hundred and fifty seven men and women aged 18 to 30 completed an online survey that included measures of GN, VN, BD, and SE. For both men and women, VN was positively correlated with BD and VN was negatively correlated with SE, while GN was (positively) correlated with SE only in women. Initial analysis suggested a role of SE in mediating the association between VN and BD. Moderated mediation analysis confirmed that the association between VN and BD was (fully) mediated by SE and that there was no moderation of this association by sex. The findings support the multidimensional nature of narcissism in young people and highlight the role of SE in accounting for the effects of VN on BD. Further research is needed to elucidate the direction of these associations and to consider their practical implications.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	body dissatisfaction, grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, self-esteem, sex-differences, moderated mediation
Research Division:	Health Sciences
Research Group:	Health services and systems
Research Field:	Mental health services
Objective Division:	Health
Objective Group:	Public health (excl. specific population health)
Objective Field:	Mental health
UTAS Author:	Purton, T (Miss Terry Purton)
UTAS Author:	Mond, J (Dr Jon Mond)
ID Code:	127987
Year Published:	2018
Web of Science® Times Cited:	9
Deposited By:	UTAS Centre for Rural Health
Deposited On:	2018-08-27
Last Modified:	2018-12-13
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