On the Relationship between Narcissism and Self-esteem and Mental Health

Objective To investigate the relationship between different types of narcissism and mental health. Methods The use of three questionnaires: the Narcissistic Personality Questionnaire,Rosenberg Self-esteem,Symptom Checklist 90(SCL- 90)and Inventory University Personality Invertory. 6126 freshmen in 2013 from a university in Guangzhou were subjected to a survey by applying the above-mentioned questionnaires so as to find out about the different types of narcissism and the mental health. Results It is found that:(1)The overt narcissistic trait significantly differs between the genders(t=5.81,P < 0.001); there exists no significant gender difference in term of the covert narcissistic trait(t = 1.75, P=0.08).(2)When the level of self-esteem was put under control, the ten factors of SCL- 90 and UPI are significantly interrelated in terms of both the overt narcissism and covert narcissism. Conclusion:Overt narcissism and covert narcissism both exert a significant impact on an individual’s psychological health when the variable of self-esteem is put under control.