Maladaptive daydreaming and narcissism

Abstract

Maladaptive daydreaming (MD) refers to excessive absorption in fantasy worlds, sometimes for many hours a day, which interferes with academic, occupational and social functioning. It shares features of a behavioural addiction which may negatively impact psychotherapy of patients with personality disorders. Links were found between MD and vulnerable narcissism (VN) but no studies have compared MD and specific types of narcissism in clinical groups, especially narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). This study explored MD, narcissistic rivalry, admiration, and VN in 491 participants classified into three groups: NPD, mixed-clinical and non-clinical. It also examined whether rivalry, admiration and VN predicts MD. The level of MD was significantly higher in the NPD group compared with mixed-clinical and non-clinical groups. Over 2/3 of NPD patients had scores indicating MD compared to ⅓ from the mixed-clinical and less than 1/4 from non-clinical groups. VN was the strongest predictor of MD. Results justify the need for screening NPD patients, especially those with vulnerable traits, for MD and actively addressing this problem during treatment.