Narcissism, social support, and loneliness during the pandemic

Abstract

In the Polish community sample (N = 662), we examined the relationship between three facets of grandiose narcissism (agentic, antagonistic, and communal) and loneliness, mediated by the social support. Data was collected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Agentic narcissism was unrelated to loneliness and social support. People characterized by a high level of antagonistic narcissism reported getting less social support and therefore feeling more lonely. People characterized by a high level of communal narcissism reported getting more social support, protecting them from feeling lonely. Our study points to different consequences of social restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic to people characterized by higher agentic, antagonistic, and communal narcissism levels. This research expands current knowledge about grandiose narcissists and their social functioning, also during forced isolation. Antagonistic narcissism seems to be maladaptive, communal narcissism has no adverse consequences, while agentic narcissism is unrelated to reactions toward forced isolation.