Preliminary results of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory validation study in Italy

Objective The Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI; Pincus et al., 2009) is a multidimensional measure of pathological narcissism. The PNI assesses seven dimensions that capture both overt and covert expressions of narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability (Pincus et al., 2009; Wright et al., 2010; You et al., 2013). Narcissistic grandiosity is measured by the dimensions of grandiose fantasy, self-sacrificing self-enhancement, and exploitative relationship; whereas narcissistic vulnerability is measured by the dimensions of contingent self-esteem, entitlement rage, devaluing, and hiding the self (Wright et al., 2010). The aim of the present study was to investigate the factor structure of the PNI among an Italian non clinical sample. Methods The PNI was administered to 753 participants (444 female, 309 males) with a mean age of 27.49 (SD= 7.73). Statistical analyses were performed using R 3.1.0 (lavaan and psy packages). Results Confirmatory factor analyses with the item parcels confirmed the 7 first-order factors (χ2SB(147)= 382.091; p= .000; RMSEA= .046; 90% confidence interval [CI] on RMSEA= 0.041 - 0.051; CFI= .963; NNFI= 0.949) and the 2 second-order factors of the PNI (χ2SB(160)= 498.506; p= .000; RMSEA= .053; 90% confidence interval [CI] on RMSEA= 0.048 - 0.058; CFI= .947; NNFI= 0.934). Standardized factor loadings of the PNI item parcels ranged from .675 to .895. The latent factor intercorrelations ranged from .07 to .83. Finally, alphas for all scales ranged from .70 to .93 (total PNI α= .93). Conclusion Results confirmed the multidimensional structure of the PNI (Pincus et al., 2009; Wright et al., 2010; You et al., 2013), showing good psychometric properties. These preliminary findings suggest that the Italian version of the PNI may be well suited for the assessment of pathological narcissism