The mediating role of narcissism in the relationships between object relations, empathy and theory of mind

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating role narcissism in the relationships between object relations, empathy and theory of mind. The study was conducted with 409 participants selected from the normal population, between the ages of 18-45. During the data collection phase, the Sociodemographic Information Form, Bell Object Relations and Reality Testing Scale, Pathological Narcissism Scale, Interpersonal Reactivity Index and Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test were given as an online form. The data were analyzed by using the SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) v.26.0 program. Independent groups t-test was used to determine the differences between genders; Pearson correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were used to examine the relationships between empathy, theory of mind, object relations and narcissism; and finally, the PROCESS extension was used for mediation analysis. Although narcissism did not have a mediating role in the relationship between object relations and theory of mind, the results showed that narcissism did have a mediating role in the relationship between object relations and empathy. The findings showed that the relationship between object relations and empathy is provided by narcissism; and emphasizing the importance of narcissism iteratü relationship. Finally, the findings were discussed in the light of the relevant iteratüre, the limitations of the study and suggestions for future studies were stated. Keywords: Empathy, Theory of mind, Object relations, Narcissism