Mean Girls in Disguise? Associations Between Vulnerable Narcissism and Perpetration of Bullying Among Women

Abstract

The literature on bullying perpetration is underpinned by gendered undertones, commonly portraying men as bullies given men’s greater tendency to exhibit stereotypically masculine and overtly grandiose features of narcissism. Due to the lack of gender-sensitive inventories employed, the association between narcissism and bullying perpetration among women remains understudied. Using an all-women sample (N = 314), the current study explored grandiose narcissism (overtly immodest and domineering) and vulnerable narcissism (hypersensitive and neurotic), the latter being more prevalent among women, in relation to bullying peers. Correlation analyses showed that vulnerable narcissism was positively associated with verbal, physical, and indirect bullying. At the subscale level, contingent self-esteem, devaluing, and entitlement rage were positively associated with all three types of bullying. Grandiose narcissism was positively associated with physical and verbal bullying, as was grandiose fantasy at the subscale level, and exploitativeness was positively associated with all three types of bullying. When grandiose and vulnerable narcissism were simultaneously entered into a regression model, only vulnerable narcissism emerged as a positive predictor of physical and verbal bullying. At the subscale level, devaluing positively predicted verbal and indirect bullying, whereas hiding the self negatively predicted indirect bullying. Expressions of vulnerable narcissism, more so than grandiose narcissism, may be relevant for bullying perpetration among women. Implications for anti-bullying interventions are discussed.