“I can't miss a thing” – The contribution of defense mechanisms, grandiose narcissism, and vulnerable narcissism to fear of missing out in emerging adulthood

Abstract

The present study examined the contribution of different defense mechanisms (i.e., mature, mental inhibition and avoidance, immature-depressive), grandiose narcissism, and vulnerable narcissism to fear of missing out (FoMO). A non-clinical community sample of 436 white (97.24 % Italians) emerging adults (age range: 18–29 years; M = 24.90, SD = 2.52) participated in a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based online survey. All participants were cisgender (i.e., identified with the gender assigned at birth), of whom 72.2 % were assigned females at birth; 80.50 % reported a heterosexual orientation. Structural equation modeling indicated that mature defenses and mental inhibition and avoidance defenses did not significantly contribute to FoMO, while grandiose and vulnerable narcissism did. However, higher immature-depressive defenses were associated with increased FoMO over and beyond vulnerable narcissism, suggesting that immature-depressive defenses maladaptively hinder emerging adults from acknowledging and elaborating their own vulnerability, leading to feelings of anxiety and frustration when they perceive exclusion from rewarding activities. The results indicate potential intervention targets, such as grandiose narcissism and immature-depressive defenses, for emerging adults who struggle with FoMO, while also pointing to the need for replication in clinical samples to confirm the importance of including defense mechanisms for diagnosing and treating narcissistic individuals reporting FoMO.