Validation of the German Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory and construction of a brief form using ant colony optimization

Jauk E, Olaru G, Schürch E, Back M D, & Morf C C

Research article (journal)

Abstract

Narcissism is a multifaceted construct commonly conceptualized as comprising grandiose and vulnerable aspects in a two-factor model. While the manifold correlates of these aspects imposed a challenge for research on the structure of narcissism, recent models converge in a three-factor structure of agentic-extraverted, antagonistic, and neurotic aspects, capturing variance in different conceptualizations and correlates of narcissism. We construct and validate a German adaptation of the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory (FFNI), a measure assessing these aspects based on the Five-Factor Model. In eight samples (N = 2,921), we found the German FFNI to align with both, two- and three-factor models. The factors display good criterion validity with other narcissism measures, (non-)clinical personality dimensions, interpersonal styles, and (mal-)adaptive adjustment. Neurotic and antagonistic narcissism discriminated between individuals with/without mental disorder diagnoses, and displayed a characteristic profile in incarcerated offenders. Since the FFNI is comprehensive but long, we constructed a 30-item brief form (FFNI-BF) optimizing the internal structure and external validity using ant colony optimization. The FFNI-BF displayed good psychometric characteristics and similar, in certain aspects even advantageous criterion validity. We conclude that the German FFNI validly measures key aspects of narcissism, and the FFNI-BF captures these in a concise manner.

Details zur Publikation

Release year: 2023
Language in which the publication is written: English
Link to the full text: https://doi.org/10.1177/10731911221075761