Grandiose narcissism, depression and suicide ideation in Chinese and German students

Abstract

In Western cultural context, grandiose (overt) narcissism has been shown to be either unrelated or negatively related to negative mental health (depression, suicide ideation). Grandiose narcissism may be differently related to depression and suicide ideation variables in Eastern cultural contexts. The current study therefore aims to investigate associations between grandiose narcissism, depression, and suicide ideation in a sample of metropolitan Chinese students as well as in a sample of German students. A total of N = 935 Chinese students (73.3% female; Mage = 22.62, SDage = .89) and of N = 389 German students (75.6% female; Mage = 23.13, SDage = 2.94) completed paper-and-pencil and/or online measures of grandiose narcissism, depression, and suicide ideation. Grandiose narcissism was positively associated with depression and suicide ideation in Chinese students. Depression fully mediated the association between grandiose narcissism and suicide ideation – controlling for gender, age, and survey method. In contrast, in the German sample, no significant associations could be found. Grandiose narcissism obviously has different consequences in China than in Germany.