Date Approved
2008
Degree Type
Open Access Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Department or School
Psychology
Committee Member
Steven Huprich, PhD, Chair
Committee Member
Dean Lauterbach, PhD
Committee Member
Norman Gordon, PhD
Abstract
Recent research has suggested that the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association, 2000) may have mistakenly focused on the overt qualities of the narcissistic personality disorder (e.g. demand for admiration) while neglecting the disorder’s more covert features (Russ, Shedler, Bradley, & Westen, 2008). An investigation into the psychometric properties of a measure of this more covert form of narcissism, Hendin and Cheek’s (1997) Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS), represents the focus of the present study. A total of 298 participants completed the measure, as well as measures assessing related constructs. The HSNS achieved high levels of reliability and demonstrated notable discriminant validity, producing a pattern of correlations highly congruent with theorized relationships. However, factor analyses revealed that the measure may not be assessing a unitary construct, and its relationship to the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI; Raskin & Hall, 1979), a measure of overt narcissism, was somewhat unclear. It is concluded that the HSNS appears to assess covert narcissism, though its noted shortcomings suggests that a revision of the HSNS may be in order to improve its psychometric properties and clinical utility.
Recommended Citation
Arble, Eamonn Patrick, "Evaluating the psychometric properties of the hypersensitive narcissism scale: Implications for the distinction of covert and overt narcissism" (2008). Master's Theses and Doctoral Dissertations. 236.
https://commons.emich.edu/theses/236