Differential impact of vulnerable isolation and enmity: State social anxiety level, variability and inertia in vulnerable narcissism

Abstract

We investigate the relationship between two strategies of vulnerable narcissism – isolation and enmity – in their relation to daily social anxiety and variability and inertia of social anxiety states. We recruited a sample of N = 317 adults from Poland who participated in a 30-day long daily diary study (k = 7871 observations). The results revealed that both strategies were related to increased levels of daily social anxiety (although this relation was stronger for isolation), however – we observed a differential pattern of relation in regard to variability and inertia of social anxiety states. Specifically, isolation and average social anxiety were related to greater variability in social anxiety states, which might reflect their vulnerability to the exposure to social stressors. In turn, only enmity was positively related to inertia of social anxiety states, which might suggest that this strategy is indeed reactive in nature; however, it is also ineffective in regulating experienced negative emotions. Findings from the current study provide further support for the validity of differentiating the two distinct strategies of vulnerable narcissism.