Grandiose against vulnerable narcissism among undergraduate students in Oyo State Nigeria : differential effect of some demographic factors

Abstract

This study investigated the differential effect of some demographic factors on grandiose and vulnerable narcissism among undergraduate students in Oyo State, Nigeria. The study adopted the descriptive survey design to pilot the study. A stratified random sampling approach was used to select 685 (305 males; 380 females) participants across their academic levels. Pathological Narcissism Inventory (α=.93) was used to measure narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability. The descriptive statistics (mean and standard deviation), Independent t-Test and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to explore data. The results showed that undergraduate students showed moderate levels of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism. Significant difference existed between male and female participants in their expression of narcissistic behaviour as males exhibited more of grandiose narcissism (t(683) = 3.11; P=.002; MD= 2.99) while females were high in narcissistic vulnerability (t(683) = 2.67; P=.008; MD= 5.67). In addition there was significant difference in the expression of participants’ narcissistic behaviour based on their age dichotomy as narcissism was found to decrease with age in narcissistic grandiosity (F(2,684) = 8.883; p ＜ .001) and Narcissistic Vulnerability (F(2,684) = 30.01; p ＜ .001). The outcomes of the study were discussed and it was concluded that pathological narcissism is problem behaviour among undergraduate students. Therefore, stakeholders in behaviour management should develop therapies that can suitably address the problem along the identified lines of vulnerability and vulnerable groups.