Objective: This study investigated the relationship of parental coldness and overvaluation and the development of pathological narcissism including narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability in a sample of Hong Kong Chinese adults. Method: A purposive convenience sample of 729 participants including 288 full-time students (70.5% undergraduate, 16% postgraduate and 9.7% associate degree), 201 working professionals, and 240 outpatients (182 receiving psychiatric treatment and 58 seeking psychotherapy services) was obtained. Participants completed the following instruments: Demographic Inventory, Pathological Narcissism Inventory, and Childhood Recollections. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that both parental coldness and overvaluation were significant predictors of narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability. Men had higher scores in grandiosity but no gender difference was found with respect to vulnerability. MANOVA and t-tests showed no vital difference between the clinical (outpatient) and non-clinical (student and working professional) groups in predicting grandiosity, whereas the clinical group had more features of narcissistic vulnerability than the non-clinical group. Additionally, younger participants attained substantially higher scores in both grandiosity and vulnerability. This was also the case for singles compared to married people. Both narcissistic scales were found to be correlated with courtship, friendship, academic, and addiction problems. Respondents with depression, anxiety, and family problems had higher vulnerability scores than those without such difficulties. Higher narcissistic grandiosity was discovered in participants who were working in banks/finance, as well as those who had completed their undergraduate or higher education. Cultural differences were found: American students in Pincus (2013)'s study received noticeably higher scores on grandiosity but lower on vulnerability than their Chinese counterparts in the present study. Conclusions: This study revealed that findings of the empirical studies in Western societies regarding problematic parenting styles leading to the formation of pathological narcissism were upheld in a Chinese sample. Potential cultural influences and clinical implications of parenting styles in Hong Kong as well as ancillary analyses between narcissism and demographic data were also discussed.
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