I am so wise: Agentic narcissism, communal narcissism, and overclaiming among Polish and Italian students

The current study examines the temperamental basis of three forms of grandiose narcissism (i.e., agentic, communal, and antagonistic), employing the Behavioral Inhibition System model and three aspects of Behavioral Activation System (i.e., drive, pleasure-seeking, and sensitivity to reward). Using a self-report study conducted on a general Polish sample (N = 657), we found that all forms of narcissism were positively associated with all three aspects of BAS, while BIS was negatively associated with agentic and antagonistic forms. Communal and antagonistic narcissism did not differ in comparison of their correlations with drive and sensitivity to reward, while agentic narcissism indicated the strongest relations to temperament. A multiple regression indicated that each of the three forms of narcissism has its own specific relationship with BIS and of the aspects of BAS. We discuss our findings as useful in explaining how the three forms of narcissism are related to BIS and BAS with the distinction of the latter into its three aspects, indicating substantial differences between agentic and communal narcissism, and specificity of antagonistic narcissism.

Distinguishing communal narcissism from agentic narcissism: A behavior genetics analysis on the agency–communion model of narcissism

Several studies have investigated a potential positive association between agentic narcissism and general dishonesty, revealing both supportive and contradicting evidence. Few have focused on dishonesty within romantic relationships, a phenomenon that occurs in almost all partnerships. With the present research, we first aimed to extend existing literature on narcissism by including its two complementary facets (i.e., agentic and communal narcissism). Second, we aimed to improve the understanding of narcissists’ lying behavior in the context of partnerships by distinguishing between two different types of lies (i.e., self-centered and other-oriented lies). We hypothesized that both, people higher in agentic and communal narcissism, will report increased dishonesty toward their romantic partners (Hypothesis 1). Given the self-benefit function of self-centered lies and given that agentic narcissists aim to fulfill their relationship-based motives by agentic means, we predict agentic narcissism (compared with communal narcissism) will be a stronger predictor for self-centered lies (Hypothesis 1a). Given the other-benefiting function of other-oriented lies and given that communal narcissists aim to fulfill their motive of self-enhancement by communal means, we predict that communal narcissism (compared with agentic narcissism) will be a stronger predictor for other-oriented lies (Hypothesis 1b). In two preregistered online studies (N = 298: N = 256) we showed that people higher in agentic narcissism believed to be good liars, but this does not lead to higher self-reported frequencies of other-oriented and self-centered lies within romantic relationships historically; communal narcissism was also not related to self-reported deception. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Stress is a significant factor influencing the mental well-being of students, and mindfulness strategies have been associated with reduced academic stress. Nevertheless, there is a limited body of research investigating stress and trait mindfulness in a sample of Italian university students. This study aims to explore the relationship between academic stress, effort-reward imbalance, and trait mindfulness. Perceived stress, effort-reward imbalance, and trait mindfulness in 442 Italian university students (mean age = 23.37 ± 4.33) were assessed through the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Effort-Reward Imbalance - Student Questionnaire (ERI-SQ) and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Pearson correlation analysis showed that PSS negatively correlates with FFMQ and it positively correlates with ERI-SQ, while FFMQ negatively correlates with ERI-SQ. Furthermore, mediation analysis revealed that FFMQ partially mediates the effect of ERI-SQ on PSS. This study provides the first examination of the relationships between perceived stress, effort-reward imbalance, and trait mindfulness among Italian students. The findings suggest that trait mindfulness is associated with lower levels of perceived stress and could potentially mediate the relationship between effort-reward imbalance and stress. These insights may inform future research and interventions aimed at reducing academic stress.

The unprecedented changes in daily-life caused by Covid-19 restrictions had many psycho-logical and adverse effects, not only in sufferers but also in the general population, including university students. To date, little is known about Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms experienced by university students during the peak of Covid-19 in Italy. Thus, the study describes Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders related to the Covid-19 outbreak among Italian university students and identifies the psychological distress risk and protective factors. A multicentre observational cross-sectional study. Data collection was involved in a self-reported web questionnaire, using the on-line platform Qualtrics®, in March and April 2020, involving convenience and consecutive sampling of Italians university students in different Italy regions. A sample of 720 Italian university students was enrolled. Data analysis highlighted the leading role of sex, health concerns, and health engagement as negative or positive determinants of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders in Italian university students during the Covid-19 outbreak. In particular, it is very insightful having discovered that health engagement is a protective factor of students' mental health. This is the first study identifying sex, health issues and health commitment as positive or negative determinants of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorders symptoms in Italian university students during the Covid-19 epidemic. Accordingly, this new achievement could be the starting point for the development of awareness campaigns for the psychological health of Italian university students.

This study aimed to find out relationship between financial behavior and socio-demographic variables including, gender, income, working experience and pre-knowledge on personal finance. The study was based on an online survey. It was shared on social media in Italy and Turkey. Totally 394 Italian and Turkish university students were included in the research. Independent Sample t-test was used to analyze the data. The study found that Turkish students had higher financial behavior score than Italian students. Higher income, having working experience and pre-knowledge on personal finance were determinants for having higher level of financial behaviors for both Italian and Turkish students. When making a comparison between Italian and Turkish students, ıt was concluded that Turkish students who were female, having lower income, no working experience and no pre-knowledge on personal finance had higher level of financial behavior. There was no difference between Italian and Turkish students in terms of being male. This study may provide policymakers with fruitful findings to increase favorable financial level of university students.

<b>Background</b><br /> The communal/agentic model of narcissism is well accepted in the current research literature (Gebauer, Sedikides, Verplanken & Maio, 2012). This model could be particularly useful in examining the relation between narcissism and hedonistic and eudaimonic subjective well-being (SWB; Deci & Ryan, 2008). <br /> <b>Participants and procedure</b><br /> In an effort to examine the relationship between narcissism and SWB, correlational analyses of survey responses obtained from students (n = 138) were conducted. Agentic narcissism was measured using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Terry, 1988) and communal narcissism by the Communal Narcissism Inventory (CNI; Gebauer et al., 2012). Subjective well-being measures included the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985), Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS; Watson, Clark & Tegellen, 1988), and the Social Well-being Scale (SWBS; Keyes, 1998). Self-esteem was included in the study in order to examine the potential mediating role of self-esteem in the relationship between narcissism and subjective well-being. <br /> <b>Results</b><br /> Agentic narcissism was positively related to the affective component of SWB whereas communal narcissism was positively related to the cognitive component of SWB. Both forms of narcissism were positively related to social well-being. All relationships were mediated by the participant’s self-esteem level. <br /> <b>Conclusions</b><br /> The results indicate that both agentic narcissism and communal narcissism are positively related to SWB. The results are discussed in the context of the agentic/communal model of narcissism (Gebauer et al., 2012) and hedonistic/eudaimonic well-being (Deci & Ryan, 2008).

This research examined whether the better-than-average (BTA) effect is a possible explanation for norm misperceptions. Data from an online study demonstrates that people perceive their risk and proenvironmental behavior as more socially approved than the same behavior in others, suggesting that norm misperceptions are driven by the BTA effect. This suggestion is further substantiated by the observation that when a proenvironmental lifestyle is important to a person, that person’s perception that their proenvironmental behavior is more socially approved of than the same behavior in others becomes more pronounced. This moderator effect of importance is typically reported in the BTA literature. Norm misperceptions were also more pronounced when behaviors were framed in a socially disapproving manner when compared to those framed in a socially approving manner. This framing effect underpins that the BTA effect drives norm misperceptions. We expect that these findings advance the conceptualization of interventions based on social norms and contribute to BTA literature.

In the European Union right-wing and left-wing populist parties are increasingly becoming stronger. Meanwhile in Central and Eastern Europe autocracies are emerging and becoming stabilized. Italy and Hungary are two notable examples of these processes. Italy is the only country in Western Europe where a coalition of purely populist parties won an election, while Hungary has the most mature autocracy in the European Union. By using survey methodology, we examined the preferences of Hungarian and Italian students regarding the values of liberal democracy. We seek answers to the questions whether there are any significant differences between the proportion of Hungarian students and Italian students who identify themselves with the values of liberal democracy and which of these values of liberal democracy they consider to be protected values. Based on our results, we claim that students from both countries are more likely to support liberal democratic values than to support either right-wing or left-wing populist values, even if the distributions of the two groups differ significantly. We found that Italian students adhere more strongly to liberal democratic values, while Hungarians are more open to left-wing and right-wing populism. Our results confirm that in Hungary, because of the values that many people hold, conditions are conducive for establishing a sustainable autocracy, while in Italy, the demand for such a system is much weaker.

There is limited evidence of a link between Orthorexia Nervosa (ON) and Obsessive–Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and no definitive conclusions can be drawn. The interplay between socio-cultural context and ON has been poorly investigated as well. Therefore, the objectives of the present study were: (1) to investigate the differences in ON and OCD symptoms and (2) to assess the relationship between ON and OCD symptoms among university students. Six hundred and sixty-six university students participated in the present study: 286 from Poland and 320 from Italy. No age, gender and marital status differences were identified between two samples of university students. However, on average, Polish university students had a higher Body Mass Index than Italian ones. Our findings showed that Polish students present more problems related to obsessive symptomatology, core beliefs of OCD, perfectionism traits, and a major ON symptomatology than Italian ones. Also, Polish students with a higher level of ON exhibited higher levels of OCD symptoms and parental expectations/parental criticism. While Italian students with a higher level of ON showed higher levels of perfectionism features (organization and concern over mistakes). In general, correlations were low as confirmation of partial independence ON from OCD symptoms and core beliefs of OCD in both Polish and Italian university students. The present results highlight a need for further investigation of the correlates of ON across different cultural groups. Future research may screen individuals with ON to determine the comorbidity between ON and OCD symptomology to facilitate appropriate treatment choices.Level of evidenceLevel V, Opinions of respected authorities, based on descriptive studies, narrative reviews, clinical experience, or reports of expert committees.

Agentic narcissism and vulnerable narcissism have been widely studied in relation to social media use. However, with research on communal narcissism in its early stages, the current study examines communal narcissism in relation to social media use. Specifically, the current study investigates whether communal narcissism is related to use and frequency of use of the popular social networking sites Instagram, Reddit and Twitter, and if communal narcissism relates to the importance of receiving feedback and to the quality-rating of self-presented content on those platforms. A total of 334 individuals were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk, with two-thirds being male (66.7%). A regression analysis showed that communal narcissism was related to increased use of Instagram and Twitter but not Reddit. Sharing content, the importance of feedback and better than average ratings had positive associations with communal narcissism. The relationship between communal narcissism and sharing on social media was fully mediated by wanting validation on social media and higher ratings of self-presented content. Communal narcissism had a notably strong relationship with wanting validation on all platforms and our results suggest that communal narcissism might be especially relevant in the context of social media use.

(1) Background: This study aimed to compare psychological symptoms between Italian university students and American college students, considering both external (e.g., nationality) and internal variables (e.g., gender, age, and personality traits) potentially associated with mental health status. (2) Methods: A total of 201 Italian students from the University of Parma and 214 American students from Boston College were recruited. Participants completed the Symptom Questionnaire (SQ) and the 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire (16PF). Group comparisons were conducted on socio-demographic and psychological variables using chi-square and independent samples t-tests. Subsequently, hierarchical linear regression analyses were performed separately for each sample to identify personality traits that predict psychological symptoms, while controlling for gender and age. (3) Results: Both samples scored above the clinical cut-off on all SQ symptom scales. American students reported significantly higher levels of depression and hostility. Across both groups, psychological distress was primarily predicted by high tension and low emotional stability, with personality traits explaining a greater proportion of variance than nationality. Traits related to social interaction and emotional regulation also emerged as significant predictors. (4) Conclusions: Identifying personality profiles that are more vulnerable to psychological symptoms may support the development of early identification strategies and targeted prevention programs in university settings.

Purpose– The purpose of this paper is to measure how three components of social representations (SRs) of new foods, Adherence to technology, Adherence to natural food, and Food as enjoyment, relate to Finnish and Italian university students’ religiousness, country of origin, sex, and field of study.Design/methodology/approach– Italian and Finnish university students (n=564) completed a 27-item scale of SRs of new foods. A series of analysis of covariance was used to test the hypotheses.Findings– As expected, technology students scored higher on Adherence to technology than social science students, and women and religious persons scored higher on Adherence to natural food than men and non-religious persons. Unexpectedly, Finns scored higher on Food as an enjoyment than Italians.Originality/value– This study illustrates the usefulness of SR theory for studying food-related thinking, and throws more light on how religiousness, professional field, and sex are connected to the three components of SR of new foods in two European countries and food cultures.

Structural validity of the Communal Narcissism Inventory (CNI): The bifactor model

This paper presents a study carried out to survey the digital skills of Italian students belonging to the latest generation of digital natives and currently enrolled in university courses of humanities, in which IT and digital skills risk to be neglected both by the students’ interest and the range of offered courses. The study aims to understand how students perceive their level of digital skills and whether there is a discrepancy between their self-assessed level and their actual knowledge. Participants answered a survey of four sections, including preliminary questions, two self-assessment parts and a section containing multiple-choice questions, based on the European Framework of Digital Competences, on both theoretical and practical aspects of IT and digital skills. Results show that participants tend to overestimate their digital skills and that they lack knowledge of basic topics. Besides outlining the digital competences of Italian humanities students, this study points out digital skills that should be strengthen, whereas they are often taken for granted by teachers and institutions, although students need those skills in their university and professional life, but also for their daily digital needs.