The Relations Among Narcissism, Self-Esteem, and Delinquency In a Sample of At-Risk Adolescents

The present study explores the relation between narcissism and delinquency among 372 at-risk 16-18-year-olds. The study also considered the relation between narcissism and self-esteem, as well as the potential interaction between narcissism and self-esteem for predicting delinquency in this age group. Narcissism and self-esteem were positively interrelated; however, only narcissism was significantly correlated with delinquency. The results suggested that low self-esteem was actually associated with delinquency when controlling for narcissism. So-called adaptive narcissism was positively correlated with self-esteem, but maladaptive narcissism was not related to self-esteem. Limitations and directions for future research in this area are discussed. (c) 2007 The Association for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved