Brennan, Sarah (5/14) Pathological narcissism and reflective function: a moderated mediation model of the cycle of violence(Nicholas Papouchis, Ph.D.; Sara Chiara Haden, Ph.D.; Nicole M. Cain, Ph.D.)
The purpose of this study was to investigate both the "how" and "when" of the cycle of violence (COV) -- that is, how do victimized children become violent adults, and when do these adults become violent? In particular, we examined whether the connection between childhood violence victimization (CVV) and adult violent behavior (AVB) was accounted for by underlying pathological narcissism and, if so, did the level of reflective function (RF) possessed by narcissistic individuals influence their risk for violence. The sample consisted of 112 racially and ethnically diverse men ( n = 56) and women (n = 56) ages 18 to 45 recruited from the NYC community through Craistlist.org. The entire sample completed self-report questionnaires assessing CVV, AVB, and personality pathology, and were administered the Adult Attachment Interview, the transcripts of which were coded for RF. Path analysis using the maximum likelihood method was used to test a moderated mediation model in which pathological narcissism served as mediator of the relationship between CVV and AVB, and RF served as a two-level moderator (low vs. high) of the relationship between pathological narcissism and AVB. Exploratory analyses investigated psychopathy, conceptualized as the most pathological form of narcissism, as an alternative mediator of the COV. Findings indicated that pathological narcissism and psychopathy both partially mediated the CVV-AVB link, lending support to the hypothesis that narcissistic pathology helps explain the COV phenomenon. However, RF did not moderate the association between pathological narcissism and AVB, and therefore the full moderated mediation model was not supported. Overall, this study points to pathological narcissism as a key -- and heretofore, overlooked -- partial mediator in the COV.
