Psychometric Properties of a French Version of the Narcissistic Personality Inventory in Young Adults

Abstract

Abstract. The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) is widely used in social and personality psychology. The present study validates a French version of the NPI (NPI-Fr) for use with young adults. Respondents (N = 1275, Mage = 21.83, SD = 4.97) completed the NPI and two other convergent measures (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and French version of the Big Five Inventory) for three validation steps. Exploratory factor analyses yielded evidence for a structure with either two (Power/Authority, Exhibitionism/Self-Admiration) or four (Leadership/Authority, Grandiosity/Exhibitionism, Special Person, Exploitativeness/Entitlement) first-order factors for the NPI. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the 33-item four-factor model, with moderate model fit indices (χ2/df = 2.04, RMSEA = .058, CFI = .90, GFI = .85). We found significant positive correlations (r = .11 to .44) with self-esteem, Extraversion, and Openness, and a negative correlation with Neuroticism (r = –.09 to –.21). There was high internal consistency, with a reliability coefficient of α = .73 to .93, while test–retest reliability at 4 weeks was satisfactory. Our results confirm the psychometric quality of the questionnaire for French young adults.