TITLE:
The Relationship between Multidimensional Narcissism, Explicit and Implicit Self-Esteem in Eating Disorders
AUTHORS:
Katrine Boucher, Catherine Bégin, Marie-Pierre Gagnon-Girouard, Carole Ratté
KEYWORDS:
Pathological Narcissism, Explicit Self-Esteem, Implicit Self-Esteem, Eating Disorders, Implicit Association Test
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.6 No.15,
December
28,
2015
ABSTRACT: Eating disorders (EDs) are often characterised by a low self-esteem. Further examination of the different facets of self-esteem (explicit and implicit) and its relationship to a key personality trait, narcissism, might deepen our understanding of EDs. The aim of the present study is to examine the relationship between explicit and implicit self-esteem as well as grandiose and vulnerable narcissism in a population with EDs. Explicit and implicit self-esteem as well as pathological narcissism were compared in participants with EDs (n = 69), participants with anxiety disorders (n = 51) and participants with no history of psychiatric disorders (n = 93). All participants completed a battery of questionnaires and participated in a categorization task to measure implicit self-esteem, the Implicit Association Test (IAT). The participants with EDs had the lowest explicit self-esteem (p