When narcissism gets lonely: Loneliness moderates the association between pathological narcissism and interpersonal problems, and the link to psychological distress

Pathological narcissism is associated with problematic interpersonal behaviours. Because of the high need for external validation in pathological narcissism, the experience of loneliness may exacerbate the relationship between pathological narcissism and interpersonal problems. Moreover, these interpersonal problems may contribute to psychological distress, potentially accounting for the association between pathological narcissism and psychological distress symptoms. The present study was aimed at examining whether loneliness moderated the association between pathological narcissism and interpersonal sensitivity, ambivalence, and aggression problems––and whether these interpersonal problems mediated the narcissism-distress association. Using self-report, cross-sectional data from a sample of 248 Canadian community members (73.5% female; average age 25.8 ± 10.5 years), significant interactions were found between pathological narcissism and loneliness––indicating moderation––in relation to interpersonal sensitivity problems, B = .07, SE = .02, t = 3.21, p = .002, and interpersonal aggression, B = .07, SE = .03, t = 2.66, p = .009. Conditional process modelling indicated significant moderated mediation––moderated by loneliness––of the relationship between pathological narcissism and distress symptoms through interpersonal sensitivity, index = .20, SE = .12, 95% CI[.02, .47], and aggression, index = .21, SE = .11, 95% CI[.02, .46]. The findings suggest that as individuals high in pathological narcissism experience more loneliness, they are more likely to evince greater sensitivity and aggressive interpersonal problems, which may in turn influence severity of distress symptoms.