What Do Narcissists and the Socially Anxious Have in Common?

Narcissism’s two faces of vulnerability and grandiosity are seen as distinct, even though both share the quality of a need for validation and admiration. Another feature of narcissism, though, is its link to anger and impulsiveness. When people high in narcissism have their goals thwarted, they lash out at those who stand in their way. The vulnerable type, in particular, can become enraged while also feeling threatened by the possibility of rejection.

Perhaps you have an acquaintance who you would consider emotionally fragile, using any opportunity to gain admiration as a way to prop up a weak sense of self-esteem. This friend decides to host a lavish fundraiser for a local charity, inviting people from the community as well as close friends and family. The event is scheduled for the middle of a busy time for other celebrations, such as weddings and graduations. Although plenty of would-be guests replied that they would attend, almost no one showed up. You suspect that the acquaintance feels deeply wounded, but rather than admitting to being sad, lashes out in rage while taking all of the food and decorations and throwing them angrily into the trash. You suspect that narcissistic injury is at fault, but might some other personality qualities be involved?

Social Anxiety’s Narcissistic Connection

According to Virginia Tech’s Mara Villalongo Andino and colleagues (2024), although the fear of being negatively evaluated lies at the heart of social anxiety disorder (SAD), there is a subtype that shows up clinically that is characterized by anger and a kind of search for distractions called novelty-seeking impulsive behavior. Not much is known about this subtype, since most of the attention in understanding the disorder focuses on the fear of negative evaluation (FNE).

Their weak sense of self leads people high in vulnerable narcissism also to experience high FNE. Additionally, as the authors note, they have “a depleted sense of self (e.g., feelings of emptiness), emotional dysregula­tion, interpersonal hypersensitivity, inadequacy, and shame.”

Exploring the possible link between SAD and vulnerable narcissism could have both clinical implications, providing a new avenue of treatment, as well as theoretical implications. Knowing that a specific subtype of SAD has narcissistic connections would bring the idea that some individuals with this disorder have a weak sense of self and would suggest important personality contributions to what is generally thought of as a disorder based almost entirely on unrealistic fears.

Testing the SAD-Narcissism Connection

Using an online sample of 355 adults (18 to 80 years old; average age 32), Villalongo Andino and colleagues administered standard personality inventories focusing on scales measuring anger and conscientiousness, anxiety, and patience. The tests also included scales assessing difficulties in emotion regulation, anxiety, depression, and narcissistic admiration and rivalry. The idea was to see how these scale items would cluster together through a process of statistical modeling.

What emerged from this analysis was a five-profile model reflecting clustered combinations of scores on the factors of anxiety (e.g., prone to tension), anger (quick to become temperamental), impulsivity (I make decisions in a hasty manner), narcissistic admiration (I expect to be famous in the future), narcissistic rivalry (I desire the failure of my rivals), and social anxiety (crowded public settings make me anxious).

Three of the profiles showed high levels of social anxiety (1, 3, and 5), and the other two did not, but within the socially anxious, two scored high on anger and impulsivity (3 and 5). Within Profiles 3 and 5, furthermore, only Profile 5 showed high levels of narcissism. Their social anxiety was subclinical, though, which is important to keep in mind. Profile 5 was estimated to be present in 10 percent of the sample; the most frequent was Profile 2, involving 44 percent of the sample.

In addition to identifying the profiles and their estimated frequency, the authors were able to use data provided in self-report measures of demographic and mental health information to expand on the characteristics of the individuals in Profile 5. They were most likely to have a high proportion of self-identified males (72 percent), and although, like the others, most were not attending therapy or taking medications, they did show the highest percent of both (22 percent and 27 percent) compared to those individuals in the other profiles.

What to Do With This New Understanding

Recognizing that people with social anxiety disorder can (a) become angry and impulsive while (b) possessing high levels of vulnerable narcissism provides a new perspective on people whose behavior seems to straddle both sets of qualities. That person who became so enraged and even out of control at having no one attend the reception (perhaps more likely to be a man, come to think of it?) not only had fears of being unlikeable confirmed, but may also have been particularly sensitive due to a narcissistic streak as well.

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From a therapeutic standpoint, the authors also note the implications of their findings given the need to take narcissism, and not just social anxiety, into account when helping individuals find better ways to manage their fear of rejection or embarrassment. Because cognitive behavioral therapy is so effective with anxiety disorders, furthermore, clinicians might find that the individuals they work with could benefit from addressing their narcissistic qualities as well.

The very idea of combining what seem like two disparate entities into one profile could have implications for other psychological disorders as well. There’s no reason to think that all the variations that exist among individuals, whether reflecting a disorder or not, can be summed up with one simple diagnostic entity. Looking for subtler distinctions within broad categories could therefore become a promising route for improved ways to provide targeted psychological interventions.

To sum up, assuming someone is simply narcissistic or socially anxious may not give you the best insight into what complexities lie beneath the surface. An individual losing control after suffering what they perceive as a rejection may reflect a far more complex set of inner tendencies.