Beyond kindness: The role of narcissism and the need for social approval in pathological altruism

While altruism is generally considered a positive concept in the literature, pathological altruism is defined as prioritizing others' needs at the expense of one's own well-being. Considering the limited number of studies examining the factors associated with pathological altruism, it is important to investigate the predictors of this phenomenon. Studies in the literature suggest that narcissistic personality traits—especially vulnerable narcissism—may be associated with pathological altruism. Grandiose narcissism is associated with an extraverted personality structure that seeks admiration, whereas vulnerable narcissism is related to an introverted structure sensitive to criticism. Given the intense need for external approval among individuals with narcissistic traits, all these factors are considered potential risk factors for pathological altruism. This study hypothesized that the behaviors associated with pathological altruism—namely helping others at the expense of one's own needs—would be related to narcissistic personality traits and the need for social approval. The aim of the study was to examine the predictive roles of the need for social approval, grandiose narcissism, and vulnerable narcissism on pathological altruism in students from psychology, guidance and psychological counseling (GPC), and social work departments who are expected to work in the field of psychological health in the future. The sample consisted of 256 participants (230 female, 25 male) aged between 18 and 30 (M = 22.95, SD = 2.395) who were enrolled in psychology, GPC, and social work programs at various universities and did not have a psychiatric diagnosis. Data were collected using a Sociodemographic Information Form, the Need for Social Approval Scale, the Healthy Selfishness and Pathological Altruism Scale, and the Pathological Narcissism Inventory. The data were collected via Qualtrics and analyzed using SPSS 25.0. The findings indicated that vulnerable narcissistic traits were positively and significantly related to both the need for social approval and pathological altruism. In contrast, grandiose narcissistic traits were negatively related to these variables. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that the need for social approval significantly predicted pathological altruism in the first step. However, when vulnerable narcissism was added in the second step, the predictive role of the need for social approval disappeared, and vulnerable narcissism emerged as a positive and significant predictor of pathological altruism. Grandiose narcissism, on the other hand, did not significantly predict pathological altruism and did not make a meaningful contribution to the model. These findings suggest that vulnerable narcissistic traits are a strong risk factor for pathological altruism. The results are discussed within the framework of the existing literature.