Investigating the link between pathological narcissism and somatization

Abstract

Although the self-image distortions and sensitivities of pathological narcissism have been theorized to contribute to somatization, limited empirical research has been devoted to this issue. The present study was developed to test the hypothesis that pathological narcissism contributes to somatic symptoms through increased hypervigiliance to physical sensations. A community sample of 248 adults completed measures of pathological narcissism, somatosensory amplification, somatic symptoms, and depression. Mediation analysis was conducted, controlling for depression, using 99% bootstrapped confidence intervals to examine the indirect effect of pathological narcissism on somatic symptoms via soma..