Ricerc@Sapienza

The relationship between perfectionism and grandiose narcissism is well established. Available studies on this issue are prevalently cross-sectional and assessed grandiose narcissism as a unidimensional construct, whereas recent authors claim its multidimensionality. The present project overcomes these limits by examining the reciprocal associations between perfectionistic dimensions and the assertive and antagonistic aspects of grandiose narcissism in a sample of Italian undergraduates. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) and the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire (NARQ) will be administrated to a sample of university students over three measurement occasions with six-month intervals. The longitudinal associations between each of the three forms of perfectionism measured through the MPS (self-oriented, socially prescribed, and other-oriented) and the two dimensions of grandiose narcissism proposed by the NARQ (admiration and rivalry) will be explored. Longitudinal cross-lagged panel models will be employed to test for competing hypotheses regarding the direction of effects between the two sets of variables. The findings of this study will contribute to our understanding of the dynamic interplay between specific aspects of perfectionism and narcissistic grandiosity. Moreover, they will expand previous findings on the growth trajectory of these traits in emerging adulthood, a key life period for personality development.