The Unified Narcissism Scale-Revised: Testing Incremental Validity and Shortening the Measure.

Narcissism has had a long history of conceptual and measurement confusion. In this paper, we aimed to assess the incremental and external validity of the Unified Narcissism Scale-Revised (UNS-R), and to determine a prototype short form of the measure that is invariant across cultures. In Study 1, we constructed a 15-item short form prototype that was scalar invariant across four countries (United States, China, Sri Lanka, and Australia). Using this short form, we found the Australian sample to be the most different from the other samples. We speculate this is due to Australia having a more horizontal culture, demonstrating resistance to hierarchy and a stronger endorsement of equality. In Study 2, we assessed the incremental and external validity of the UNS-R long and short form and found it to be a superior measure of grandiose narcissism in terms of strength and cogence of external correlations compared to existing measures, but the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory-Short Form (FFNI-SF) was a better measure of vulnerable narcissism. In conclusion, we have illustrated the robustness of the UNS-R, and its short form, as a measure of narcissism and, in the process, highlighted important cross-cultural differences.

Sex differences in human mate preferences vary across sex ratios.

A wide range of literature connects sex ratio and mating behaviours in non-human animals. However, research examining sex ratio and human mating is limited in scope. Prior work has examined the relationship between sex ratio and desire for short-term, uncommitted mating as well as outcomes such as marriage and divorce rates. Less empirical attention has been directed towards the relationship between sex ratio and mate preferences, despite the importance of mate preferences in the human mating literature. To address this gap, we examined sex ratio's relationship to the variation in preferences for attractiveness, resources, kindness, intelligence and health in a long-term mate across 45 countries (n = 14 487). We predicted that mate preferences would vary according to relative power of choice on the mating market, with increased power derived from having relatively few competitors and numerous potential mates. We found that each sex tended to report more demanding preferences for attractiveness and resources where the opposite sex was abundant, compared to where the opposite sex was scarce. This pattern dovetails with those found for mating strategies in humans and mate preferences across species, highlighting the importance of sex ratio for understanding variation in human mate preferences.

Sex Differences in Mate Preferences Across 45 Countries: A Large-Scale Replication.

Considerable research has examined human mate preferences across cultures, finding universal sex differences in preferences for attractiveness and resources as well as sources of systematic cultural variation. Two competing perspectives-an evolutionary psychological perspective and a biosocial role perspective-offer alternative explanations for these findings. However, the original data on which each perspective relies are decades old, and the literature is fraught with conflicting methods, analyses, results, and conclusions. Using a new 45-country sample (N = 14,399), we attempted to replicate classic studies and test both the evolutionary and biosocial role perspectives. Support for universal sex differences in preferences remains robust: Men, more than women, prefer attractive, young mates, and women, more than men, prefer older mates with financial prospects. Cross-culturally, both sexes have mates closer to their own ages as gender equality increases. Beyond age of partner, neither pathogen prevalence nor gender equality robustly predicted sex differences or preferences across countries.

Vulnerable narcissism as a mediator of the relationship between perceived parental invalidation and eating disorder pathology.

PURPOSE: Parental invalidation and narcissism have been proposed to play an important role in understanding the etiology of eating disorders. The current research aimed to address two main gaps in the literature. The first aim was to determine the differential associations of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism with eating disorder pathology. The second aim was to find a common mediator between both maternal and paternal invalidation and eating disorder pathology. It was hypothesized that when controlling for vulnerable narcissism, grandiose narcissism would not predict eating disorder pathology. In addition, it was hypothesized that vulnerable narcissism would be a mediator of the relationship between parental invalidation and eating disorder pathology. METHODS: Participants were 352 women aged 18-30 years who were recruited from the general and tertiary student population, and as such constituted a community sample. Participants completed the Invalidating Childhood Environment Scale, Brief-Pathological Narcissism Inventory, Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, the Avoidance of Affect Subscale of the Distress Tolerance Scale, and the Emotional Expression as a Sign of Weakness Subscale of the Attitudes Towards Emotional Expression Scale in an online survey. RESULTS: Results showed that, when controlling for vulnerable narcissism, grandiose narcissism was no longer associated with eating disorder pathology. It was also found that parental invalidation had a positive indirect effect upon eating disorder pathology, via vulnerable narcissism. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate that vulnerable narcissism is more strongly associated with eating disorder pathology as opposed to grandiose narcissism and help to further elucidate the mechanisms via which parental invalidation might exert its negative effect on eating disorder pathology. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: A cross-sectional survey (Level V).

The Prejudice towards People with Mental Illness (PPMI) scale: structure and validity.

BACKGROUND: Although there is a substantial body of research on the stigma associated with mental illness, much of the extant research has not explicitly focused on the concept of prejudice, which drives discriminatory behaviour. Further, research that has investigated prejudice towards people with mental illness has conceptual, theoretical and psychometric limitations. To address these shortcomings, we sought to develop a new measure, the Prejudice towards People with Mental Illness (PPMI) scale, based on an improved conceptualisation and integration of the stigma and prejudice areas of research. METHODS: In developing the new scale, we undertook a thematic analysis of existing conceptualisations and measures to identify a pool of potential items for the scale which were subsequently assessed for fidelity and content validity by expert raters. We tested the structure, reliability, and validity of the scale across three studies (Study 1 N = 301; Study 2 N = 164; Study 3 N = 495) using exploratory factor, confirmatory factor, correlational, multiple regression, and ordinal logistic regression analyses using both select and general community samples. RESULTS: Study 1 identified four factors underlying prejudice towards people with mental illness: fear/avoidance, malevolence, authoritarianism, and unpredictability. It also confirmed the nomological network, that is, the links of these attitudes with the proposed theoretical antecedents and consequences. Studies 2 and 3 further supported the factor structure of the measure, and provided additional evidence for the nomological network. CONCLUSIONS: We argue that research into prejudice towards people with mental illness will benefit from the new measure and theoretical framework.

Measuring civilian moral injury: Adaptation and validation of the Moral Injury Events Scale (Civilian) and Expressions of Moral Injury Scale (Civilian).

OBJECTIVE: Moral injury (MI) research has been expanded to populations beyond the military in recent years. A key barrier to further research into MI in civilian populations is the lack of valid, reliable measures of the construct appropriate for general civilian use. This article addresses this barrier by adapting two existing military measures and exploring their psychometrics in a general civilian sample: the Moral Injury Events Scale-Civilian (MIES-C) and Expressions of Moral Injury Scale-Military (EMIS-C). METHOD: A sample of civilian women (n = 192) and men (n = 88) completed the above measures, and additional scales designed to capture theoretically supported primary and secondary markers of MI (guilt, shame, anger; depression, posttraumatic stress symptoms, anxiety). RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses found that the factor structure of the MIES-C and EMIS-C replicated well within our civilian sample. Discriminant validity was indicated through a significant negative correlation with well-being. Both measures correlated as predicted with each other and measures of MI markers at the total score level. Correlations of individual subscales with each of these measures were more varied. CONCLUSIONS: Results shed light on differential relationships between the type of MI event and clinical outcomes, suggesting some conceptual differences in how MI is experienced in general civilian populations. Results suggest that civilian populations are also susceptible to MI, but that existing measures may have problems capturing this effectively. While the MIES-C and EMIS-C are supported for civilian use, further scale construction efforts for this population are warranted. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Parental Narcissism Leads to Anxiety and Depression in Children via Scapegoating.

The clinical literature on narcissistic families has often described the presence of a family scapegoat. To date, however, no research has empirically explored this phenomenon. This study investigated the relationship between perceived parental vulnerable and grandiose narcissism and scapegoating, and the impact of these on the symptoms of anxiety and depression in emerging adults, in a sample of 504 Australian adults (Mage = 22.38, SDage = 3.63; 59.72% female, 38.09% male). A path model was tested, with perceived parental vulnerable and grandiose narcissism as predictors, scapegoating as a mediator, and participants' anxiety and depression as outcomes, controlling for demographic variables and participants' vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. Results indicated that higher perceived paternal grandiose narcissism had a direct effect on anxiety and depression, whereas perceived maternal vulnerable narcissism, perceived paternal vulnerable narcissism, and perceived maternal grandiose narcissism had indirect effects on anxiety and depression via scapegoating. Effect sizes were generally small to medium. These findings show that scapegoating is an important variable linking parental narcissism with negative psychological outcomes such as anxiety and depression in emerging adults.

Dimensional models of personality disorders: Challenges and opportunities.

Categorical models of personality disorders have been beneficial throughout psychiatric history, providing a mechanism for organizing and communicating research and treatment. However, the view that individuals with personality disorders are qualitatively distinct from the general population is no longer tenable. This perspective has amassed steady criticism, ranging from inconsequential to irreconcilable. In response, stronger evidence has been accumulated in support of a dimensional perspective that unifies normal and pathological personality on underlying trait continua. Contemporary nosology has largely shifted toward this dimensional perspective, yet broader adoption within public lexicon and routine clinical practice appears slow. This review focuses on challenges and the related opportunities of moving toward dimensional models in personality disorder research and practice. First, we highlight the need for ongoing development of a broader array of measurement methods, ideally facilitating multimethod assessments that reduce biases associated with any single methodology. These efforts should also include measurement across both poles of each trait, intensive longitudinal studies, and more deeply considering social desirability. Second, wider communication and training in dimensional approaches is needed for individuals working in mental health. This will require clear demonstrations of incremental treatment efficacy and structured public health rebates. Third, we should embrace cultural and geographic diversity, and investigate how unifying humanity may reduce the stigma and shame currently generated by arbitrarily labeling an individual's personality as normal or abnormal. This review aims to organize ongoing research efforts toward broader and routine usage of dimensional perspectives within research and clinical spaces.

Prejudice toward people with borderline personality disorder: Application of the prejudice toward people with mental illness framework.

BACKGROUND: People living with borderline personality disorder (BPD) face high levels of prejudice and discrimination from both the community and medical professionals, but no measure of prejudice toward people living with BPD exists. AIMS: The current study aimed to adapt an existing Prejudice toward People with Mental Illness (PPMI) scale and investigate the structure and nomological network of prejudice toward people with BPD. METHODS: The original 28-item PPMI scale was adapted to create the Prejudice toward People with Borderline Personality Disorder (PPBPD) scale. The scale and related measures were completed by three samples: 217 medical or clinical psychology students, 303 psychology undergraduate students, and 314 adults from the general population. RESULTS: The original four-factor structure of the PPMI was supported in the PPBPD scale. Reported prejudice toward people with BPD was more negative than prejudice toward people with mental illness in general. The association of the PPBPD scale with antecedents and consequences was assessed, including social dominance orientation, right-wing authoritarianism, ethnocentrism, personality traits, empathy, prior contact, and feelings toward other stigmatized groups and mental illnesses. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided evidence for the validity and psychometric properties of the PPBPD scale across three samples and investigated anticipated relationships with theoretically related antecedents and consequences. This research will help improve understanding of the expressions underlying prejudice toward people with BPD.

The Unified Narcissism Scale-Revised: Expanding Measurement and Understanding of Narcissism Across Cultures.

The study of narcissism has been hindered by conceptual, theoretical, and measurement in-consistencies. In this article, we report two studies that tested a novel unified conceptualization and theoretical approach to narcissism using the Unified Narcissism Scale-Revised. Study 1 revised the recently developed Unified Narcissism Scale to construct a preliminary 40-item measure in a sample of 395 American participants (Mage = 41). We confirmed the five-factor first-order model, the two-factor second-order model, and the one-factor third-order model. Study 2 considered the cross-cultural performance of the revised scale in the Chinese language in China (N = 326, Mage = 25.5 years) and in the English language in Sri Lanka (N = 354 Mage = 28.7 years) and constructed a final 35-item measure. In conducting these studies, we have demonstrated the cross-cultural importance of entitlement and self-esteem to the conceptualization of narcissism and suggest that the negative relationship between narcissism and agreeableness may be culture-specific to Western samples (as evidenced by the absence of this relationship in non-Western samples). In this article, we have constructed a measure of narcissism that has refined our understanding of the construct and created a tool to capture this understanding.

Modernization, collectivism, and gender equality predict love experiences in 45 countries.

Recent cross-cultural and neuro-hormonal investigations have suggested that love is a near universal phenomenon that has a biological background. Therefore, the remaining important question is not whether love exists worldwide but which cultural, social, or environmental factors influence experiences and expressions of love. In the present study, we explored whether countries' modernization indexes are related to love experiences measured by three subscales (passion, intimacy, commitment) of the Triangular Love Scale. Analyzing data from 9474 individuals from 45 countries, we tested for relationships with country-level predictors, namely, modernization proxies (i.e., Human Development Index, World Modernization Index, Gender Inequality Index), collectivism, and average annual temperatures. We found that mean levels of love (especially intimacy) were higher in countries with higher modernization proxies, collectivism, and average annual temperatures. In conclusion, our results grant some support to the hypothesis that modernization processes might influence love experiences.

Love and affectionate touch toward romantic partners all over the world.

Touch is the primary way people communicate intimacy in romantic relationships, and affectionate touch behaviors such as stroking, hugging and kissing are universally observed in partnerships all over the world. Here, we explored the association of love and affectionate touch behaviors in romantic partnerships in two studies comprising 7880 participants. In the first study, we used a cross-cultural survey conducted in 37 countries to test whether love was universally associated with affectionate touch behaviors. In the second study, using a more fine-tuned touch behavior scale, we tested whether the frequency of affectionate touch behaviors was related to love in romantic partnerships. As hypothesized, love was significantly and positively associated with affectionate touch behaviors in both studies and this result was replicated regardless of the inclusion of potentially relevant factors as controls. Altogether, our data strongly suggest that affectionate touch is a relatively stable characteristic of human romantic relationships that is robustly and reliably related to the degree of reported love between partners.

Prejudice towards people with mental illness, schizophrenia, and depression among mental health professionals and the general population.

The aim of the study was to measure and compare prejudice towards people with specific mental illnesses between mental health professionals and the general population, and examine personality, ideological, and attitudinal antecedents of prejudice. To do so, we also aimed to validate three shortened scales of prejudice. A sample of mental health professionals (N = 299) and a sample from the general population (N = 427) completed shortened versions of the Prejudice towards People with Mental Illness, Prejudice towards People with Schizophrenia, and Prejudice towards People with Depression scales. They also completed measures of validity criteria and demographics. The scales demonstrated construct validity in both samples. Although prejudice was highest towards people with schizophrenia and lowest towards people with depression, mental health professionals demonstrated significantly less prejudice overall than the general population. Prejudice was associated with higher social dominance orientation, right wing authoritarianism, ethnocentrism, conservatism, and generalized prejudice, and lower agreeableness, openness to experience, and contact. These antecedents of prejudice were better predictors than any demographic or profession-related variables examined. This study contributes increased knowledge of the structure and correlates of prejudice towards people with mental disorders. This knowledge should inform more nuanced and effective interventions, therapy, and training.

Left-wing support of authoritarian submission to protect against societal threat.

New Zealand's Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, adopted a "go hard, go early" approach to eliminate COVID-19. Although Ardern and her Labour party are considered left-leaning, the policies implemented during the pandemic (e.g., police roadblocks) have the hallmarks of Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA). RWA is characterized by three attitudinal clusters (authoritarian aggression, submission, and conventionalism). The uniqueness of the clusters, and whether they react to environmental change, has been debated. Here, in the context of the pandemic, we investigate the relationship between political orientation and RWA. Specifically, we measured political orientation, support for New Zealand's major political parties, and RWA among 1,430 adult community members. A multivariate Bayesian model demonstrated that, in the middle of a pandemic, both left-leaning and right-leaning individuals endorsed items tapping authoritarian submission. In contrast to authoritarian submission, and demonstrating the multidimensional nature of RWA, we observed the typical relationships between political orientation and authoritarian aggression and conventionalism was observed.

Why So Serious? An Attempt to Mitigate the Short-Term Harmful Effects of the Film Joker on Prejudice toward People with Mental Illness.

The media perpetuates many harmful stereotypes about people with mental illness. In two studies, we demonstrate the impact of negative media portrayals of mental illness on prejudice and attempt to mitigate these negative effects. Specifically, in Study 1, participants watched the movie Joker, a recent film which associates mental illness with violent behavior, or a control film (Terminator). Participants completed the Prejudice towards People with Mental Illness (PPMI) scale before and after viewing their respective films. The PPMI consists of four dimensions: fear/avoidance (i.e., wanting to avoid people with mental illness), malevolence (i.e., viewing people with mental illness as inferior), authoritarianism (i.e., preference for control over people with mental illness), and unpredictability (i.e., the behavior of people with mental illness is unreliable). We hypothesized that participants who watched the film Joker would display an increase in their fear/avoidance of people with mental illness and their support for authoritarian approaches to their treatment. Consistent with these hypotheses, participants who viewed Joker displayed a significant increase in the fear/avoidance and authoritarian subscales of the PPMI, relative to participants that watched Terminator. In Study 2, in an attempt to mitigate the impact of Joker on prejudice towards people with mental illness, directly after the film we displayed educational and counter-stereotypical statements on-screen that challenged the view that people with mental illness are violent. A control group viewed Joker without these statements. Identical to Study 1, all participants completed the PPMI scale before and after viewing the film. We hypothesized that participants who viewed Joker with the statements would display lower prejudice relative to the control condition. Unfortunately, participants in the experimental and control conditions displayed a comparable increase in prejudice. Together, these studies confirm the negative effect of media portrayals of mental illness (as depicted in Joker) and demonstrate that these effects are not easily mitigated.

Universality of the Triangular Theory of Love: Adaptation and Psychometric Properties of the Triangular Love Scale in 25 Countries.

The Triangular Theory of Love (measured with Sternberg's Triangular Love Scale - STLS) is a prominent theoretical concept in empirical research on love. To expand the culturally homogeneous body of previous psychometric research regarding the STLS, we conducted a large-scale cross-cultural study with the use of this scale. In total, we examined more than 11,000 respondents, but as a result of applied exclusion criteria, the final analyses were based on a sample of 7332 participants from 25 countries (from all inhabited continents). We tested configural invariance, metric invariance, and scalar invariance, all of which confirmed the cultural universality of the theoretical construct of love analyzed in our study. We also observed that levels of love components differ depending on relationship duration, following the dynamics suggested in the Triangular Theory of Love. Supplementary files with all our data, including results on love intensity across different countries along with STLS versions adapted in a few dozen languages, will further enable more extensive research on the Triangular Theory of Love.

Affective Interpersonal Touch in Close Relationships: A Cross-Cultural Perspective.

Interpersonal touch behavior differs across cultures, yet no study to date has systematically tested for cultural variation in affective touch, nor examined the factors that might account for this variability. Here, over 14,000 individuals from 45 countries were asked whether they embraced, stroked, kissed, or hugged their partner, friends, and youngest child during the week preceding the study. We then examined a range of hypothesized individual-level factors (sex, age, parasitic history, conservatism, religiosity, and preferred interpersonal distance) and cultural-level factors (regional temperature, parasite stress, regional conservatism, collectivism, and religiosity) in predicting these affective-touching behaviors. Our results indicate that affective touch was most prevalent in relationships with partners and children, and its diversity was relatively higher in warmer, less conservative, and religious countries, and among younger, female, and liberal people. This research allows for a broad and integrated view of the bases of cross-cultural variability in affective touch.

Two-dimensional Machiavellianism: Conceptualization, theory, and measurement of the views and tactics dimensions.

For over 45 years, research investigating Machiavellianism has largely used the same unidimensional approach, even though empirical research demonstrates that Machiavellianism is comprised of 2 robust dimensions: views and tactics. This article elaborates on the theory and conceptualization behind the 2 dimensions. It also documents the construction and validation of the 12-item Two-Dimensional Machiavellianism Scale (TDMS), which measures the cynical and untrusting views dimension, and the immoral interpersonal tactics dimension, across 6 samples (N = 3,886, 37.70% men) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and item response theory. The 2-factor structure fitted the data well based on CFA, and was invariant across samples, gender, and over a 3-month period (N = 338, 36.39% men). Evidence of each subscale's construct validity was established using structural equation modeling. As expected, the Views subscale was primarily associated with misanthropy, hypersensitive narcissism, lower subjective well-being, and lower emotional stability. The Tactics subscale was primarily associated with psychopathy, lower conscientiousness, lower willingness to reciprocate, and "ends justified the means" behavior in ethical dilemmas. The TDMS enhances practical and conceptual understanding of Machiavellianism through demarcating the underlying motivations and addresses the need for an updated and psychometrically sound measure of Machiavellianism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Contrasting Computational Models of Mate Preference Integration Across 45 Countries.

Humans express a wide array of ideal mate preferences. Around the world, people desire romantic partners who are intelligent, healthy, kind, physically attractive, wealthy, and more. In order for these ideal preferences to guide the choice of actual romantic partners, human mating psychology must possess a means to integrate information across these many preference dimensions into summaries of the overall mate value of their potential mates. Here we explore the computational design of this mate preference integration process using a large sample of n = 14,487 people from 45 countries around the world. We combine this large cross-cultural sample with agent-based models to compare eight hypothesized models of human mating markets. Across cultures, people higher in mate value appear to experience greater power of choice on the mating market in that they set higher ideal standards, better fulfill their preferences in choice, and pair with higher mate value partners. Furthermore, we find that this cross-culturally universal pattern of mate choice is most consistent with a Euclidean model of mate preference integration.