Exploring the relations of psychopathic and narcissistic personality traits to military experiences in National Guard personnel

Abstract

Life experiences and interpersonal relationships constitute risk or resilience factors in the development of psychopathology among National Guard (NG) personnel. Psychopathy and narcissism are related to these factors in civilians and may predispose NG personnel to certain experiences or influence their responses to these experiences. This study explored the relationship between psychopathic and narcissistic traits with pre-and post-deployment experiences, as well as military experiences on deployment among NG personnel (n = 504). All pathological traits were associated with poorer social support during and post-deployment and more negative relationships (e.g., bullying) within the military unit, while antisocial psychopathic traits were associated with experiencing stressful life events and having a greater number of combat experiences in a combat-exposed subsample (n = 254). Findings clarify the association of pathological traits to stress-related pathology and elucidate how psychopathy and narcissism relate to experiences of NG personnel.