Don't Stop Belonging: Associations Between National Narcissism, Self-Esteem and Optimism in Social Belonging

This study examines the relationship between national narcissism, a defensive form of collective pride contingent on external validation and social belonging. Drawing on self-determination theory and social identity theory, we investigate the mediating role of self-esteem in this relationship, potentially transforming belonging from a defensive, compensatory strategy into a genuine desire for connection. We also explore whether optimism and sex moderate this mediated relationship. In a sample of 44,407 participants across 51 countries, we find that self-esteem mediates the association between national narcissism and social belonging, with higher self-esteem reducing defensive reliance on external validation. Both optimism and sex further moderate these effects: optimism buffered against the negative impact of national narcissism, while men and women exhibited distinct pathways in translating national narcissism into belonging. Our findings demonstrate that self-esteem determines whether national narcissism fosters insecure or more authentic forms of belonging. Moreover, both dispositional outlook (optimism) and demographic factors (sex) significantly influence the extent to which national narcissism shapes social connection.