The mediating role of schema coping styles and self-consciousness on the differing relationships between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism and psychological symptoms and interpersonal problems

The aim of this thesis, which consisted of two studies, was to examine the distinction between grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, which has a crucial place in the literature. In line with this purpose, in the first study of the thesis, it was intended to contribute to the field with a tool with strong psychometric properties measuring self-consciousness by undertaking the adaptation of the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire into Turkish, which measures two dimensions of self-consciousness, the functional and the dysfunctional one. In the second study of the thesis, it was aimed to test the hypothesis that grandiose and vulnerable narcissism will have distinctive relationships with self-consciousness dimensions and schema coping styles, and as a result, functionality of the two types of narcissism will be impaired in different ways. The first stage of the thesis, namely the adaptation study, was conducted with the first 500 participants included in the research. Since the thesis study aimed to measure sub-clinical personality traits, a total of 1012 participants from general population were reached via snowball sampling method. In addition to Sociodemographic Information Form, data were collected online from the study participants using Narcissistic Personality Inventory-16, Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale, Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire, Schema Coping Questionnaire, Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-Circumplex Scales Short Form, Brief Symptom Inventory and Basic Personality Traits Inventory. Validity and reliability analyses of Turkish form of the scale were conducted with data obtained from the first study of the thesis research. With the help of construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, predictive validity and internal consistency, split-half reliability, test-retest reliability analyses, it was determined that Turkish form of Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire is a valid and reliable measurement tool. In the second study of the thesis research, three different mediation models for grandiose and vulnerable narcissism were tested. Accordingly, in the first mediation model, reflection and overcompensation schema coping style, respectively, were revealed to mediate the relationship between grandiose narcissism and interpersonal problems. In the second model, reflection and overcompensation schema coping style, respectively, were found to mediate the relationship between grandiose narcissism and externalizing problems. Finally, in the third model, rumination and surrender schema coping style together with avoidance schema coping style, respectively, were shown to mediate the relationship between vulnerable narcissism and internalizing problems. Since self-consciousness has been related to both positive and negative outcomes, Turkish adaptation of Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire is expected to fill an important gap in the literature in terms of solving this paradox as a scale that measures both functional and dysfunctional dimensions that are reflection and rumination. Moreover, in the second stage of the thesis, it was shown that grandiose and vulnerable narcissism differentiate from each other in their relations to self-consciousness dimensions and schema coping styles as well as to internalizing, externalizing and interpersonal problems. These distinctions have significant clinical and theoretical implications. In theoretical framework, an important perspective is presented in order to better construe the grandiose-vulnerable narcissism distinction, which has already been an issue of discussion in the literature. Lastly, it is expected that the elucidation of the different ways, in which the functional impairment of grandiose and vulnerable narcissists occurs, will guide practitioners working in the clinical field.