Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and narcissistic traits

Tina A.G. Venema; Stefan Pfattheicher

doi:10.1016/j.paid.2021.110696

Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and narcissistic traits

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Psychology and Behavioural Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaper › Journal article › Research › peer-review

28 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

People's perceived susceptibility to illnesses plays a key role in determining whether or not to take protective measures. However, self-enhancing biases hinder accurate susceptibility perceptions, leaving some individuals to feel invulnerable in the face of acute health risks. Since such biases are prominent characteristics of individuals with narcissistic personality traits, this article empirically examined whether low perceived susceptibility of infection with COVID-19 is related to subclinical narcissism, as measured with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-16) and the Narcissism Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ). We report the findings from a worldwide sample (N = 244), a UK sample before governmental pandemic restrictions (N = 261), a UK sample after restrictions (N = 261) and a pooled data analysis (N = 766). Overall, grandiose narcissism as measured with the NPI-16 predicted lower perceived susceptibility of infection, also after controlling for age and gender, whereas the NARQ Admiration subscale predicted higher perceived susceptibility. The findings are discussed in the light of theoretical and policy implications.

Original language	English
Article number	110696
Journal	Personality and Individual Differences
Volume	175
Number of pages	10
ISSN	0191-8869
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2021.110696
Publication status	Published - Jun 2021

Keywords

Perceived susceptibility
Risk
Grandiose narcissism
NPI-16
NARQ
COVID-19

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10.1016/j.paid.2021.110696

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7857009/pdf/main.pdf

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title = "Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and narcissistic traits",

abstract = "People's perceived susceptibility to illnesses plays a key role in determining whether or not to take protective measures. However, self-enhancing biases hinder accurate susceptibility perceptions, leaving some individuals to feel invulnerable in the face of acute health risks. Since such biases are prominent characteristics of individuals with narcissistic personality traits, this article empirically examined whether low perceived susceptibility of infection with COVID-19 is related to subclinical narcissism, as measured with the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-16) and the Narcissism Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ). We report the findings from a worldwide sample (N = 244), a UK sample before governmental pandemic restrictions (N = 261), a UK sample after restrictions (N = 261) and a pooled data analysis (N = 766). Overall, grandiose narcissism as measured with the NPI-16 predicted lower perceived susceptibility of infection, also after controlling for age and gender, whereas the NARQ Admiration subscale predicted higher perceived susceptibility. The findings are discussed in the light of theoretical and policy implications.",

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Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 infection and narcissistic traits

Abstract

Keywords

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