Association Between Dimensions of Borderline Personality Organization and Pathological Narcissism

Contemporary clinical conceptualizations of pathological narcissism emphasize two primary dimensions, grandiosity and vulnerability. These dimensions may reflect a broader borderline organization of personality, which contemporary object relations theorists understand as three distinct dimensions (primitive defenses, identity diffusion, and reality testing). From the perspective of borderline personality organization, narcissistic vulnerability may manifest as a diffuse sense of identity, and narcissistic grandiosity as a primitive defense against this vulnerability that at high levels can impair one's sense of reality testing. However, there is little empirical research on this. In this study, we examined the associations between dimensions of borderline personality organization (primitive defenses, identity diffusion, and reality testing) and narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability in a sample of 494 college students using structural equation modeling. Results suggest that identity diffusion was associated with both narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability and that primitive defenses were associated with narcissistic vulnerability. These findings underscore the weak sense of self that underlies pathological narcissism in general and the primitive nature of narcissistic vulnerability in particular. Findings also have implications for how we might think about and intervene clinically with narcissism as a manifestation of broader borderline personality pathology.