The development and correlated change of narcissism and self-esteem in adulthood

The conceptual and empirical overlap of grandiose narcissism and self-esteem is part of ongoing debate. Whereas cross-sectional findings suggest a moderate correlation between both constructs, evidence on the longitudinal relationship of narcissism and self-esteem is still lacking. Using data of two longitudinal studies consisting of more than 10,000 participants in adulthood, the aim of the present study was to investigate whether narcissism and self-esteem follow similar developmental patterns and whether longitudinal change in narcissism is related to longitudinal change in self-esteem. Participants provided self-ratings of global, agentic, and antagonistic narcissism as well as their general perception of self-esteem. The results of True Intraindividual Change Models showed that although narcissism and self-esteem were associated cross-sectionally, intraindividual change in narcissism was largely unrelated to intraindividual change in self-esteem, suggesting a predominantly independent development of both constructs. The findings contribute to a more profound understanding of the developmental similarities and idiosyncrasies of narcissism and self-esteem in adulthood.