Suicide in narcissism: Can shame-proneness make a difference?

Abstract

Introduction Cluster B personality disorders are characterized by a higher prevalence of suicidal ideation and behavior than others, and Narcissistic Personality Disorder is no different. Very intense feelings of shame, intolerable for the individual, are often found in patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder and may have a role in suicidal behavior. Objectives To offer preliminary empirical evidences concerning the relationship between narcissism, shame and suicide ideation. Methods We administered Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI), Test of Self Conscious Affects (TOSCA) and Beck Scale for Suicidal Ideation (BSI) to a sample of individuals with Suicide ideation (n= 65) and a sample of community participants (n=65). Results Controlling for age and gender, in the merged sample we found that BSI scores correlated significantly with the vulnerable dimension of narcissism and with TOSCA Interpersonal Shame subscale. In the clinical sample, Interpersonal shame partially mediates the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and suicidal ideation. Conclusions Shame seems to play a key role in the relationship between the vulnerable facet of narcissism and suicidal ideation, although the profound mechanism by which it works remains to be understood. Future directions and clinical implications are discussed.

Keywords

• Suicide
• Suicide ideation
• shame-proneness
• Narcissism