The mediating role of interpersonal problems between childhood trauma and types of pathological narcissism

In this study, it is aimed to investigate the role of interpersonal problems in the relationship between the traumatic childhood experiences of individuals and types of narcissism. It has been observed that there are few studies examining the relationship between interpersonal relationships and types of narcissism, conducted with a sample in Turkey. It is thought that it will contribute to the literature in order to reveal the role of interpersonal problems and early experiences in the pathology of narcissism. Based on the relationship between childhood traumas and narcissistic dimensions and interpersonal problems, the main question of this research is "Do interpersonal problems have a mediating role between childhood traumas and grandiose and fragile narcissism?" has been determined. The sample of the study consists of 351 participants aged between 22-65 who were reached through easily accessible case sampling. Data was collected online via Google Forms. The online measurement tools were delivered to the participants through the announcements made to the social media and e-mail groups in accordance with the easily accessible sampling method. For study participants, having a psychiatric diagnosis and using psychiatric medication were exclusion criteria. Research data were collected online through the Sociodemographic Information Form, Childhood Trauma Scale, Interpersonal Problems Scale, and Pathological Narcissism Scale. The obtained data were analyzed using SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Sciences) v.25.0 program. The relationships between the variables were examined by Pearson correlation analysis and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The PROCESS plug-in was used to test the mediating role of interpersonal problems in the relationship between childhood traumas and types of narcissism. Findings showed that Dominant/Controlling interpersonal problems mediated the relationship between emotional abuse and grandiose narcissism, while Dominant/Controlling played a mediating role in the relationship between emotional abuse and Vulnerable Narcissism. Considering that the inventories applied to individuals are based on self-report and that they participate online, it is one of the limitations of the research that the participants can respond biasedly to the items in the inventory. The research findings were discussed within the framework of the relevant literature, and suggestions were presented for future studies, along with the limitations of the study.