Social and physical anhedonia in relation to grandiose and vulnerable narcissism

Narcissism has two different dimensions which differ in terms of social functioning. Grandiose narcissism is associated with higher extraversion, while vulnerable narcissism is associated with greater introversion. Both forms of narcissism present numerous forms of social maladjustment. Anhedonia (social and physical) is associated with measures of social maladjustment and is one of the core symptoms of serious mental conditions. The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationship between social and physical anhedonia and the two forms of narcissism, grandiose and vulnerable.

A sample of 339 young adults completed the Polish version of the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and two subscales of the Wisconsin Schizotypy Scales - Short Form: the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale and the Physical Anhedonia Scale.

We found a positive correlation between social anhedonia and vulnerable narcissism, and a negative correlation between social anhedonia and grandiose narcissism. Physical anhedonia was not related to any form of narcissism. Older people and men scored higher on the social anhedonia scale.

Vulnerable narcissistic personality is associated with social deficits, namely social anhedonia. Future research could investigate the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and schizotypy to establish whether vulnerable personality is a risk factor for developing serious mental illnesses.