Early Maladaptive Schemas, Emotion Regulation, and Forgiveness Across the Narcissism Spectrum: A Dimensional Comparative Study
-
Reyhaneh Miralikhani
,
Gholamreza Ahmadi
,
Mohadese Shiyasi
,
Zahra Safikhani
,
Seyedeh Elnaz Mousavi
Abstract
Objective: This cross-sectional study compared early maladaptive schemas, emotion regulation, and forgiveness across healthy, narcissistic traits, and narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) groups.
Method: Convenience sampling yielded 492 adults: healthy individuals (n=205), individuals with narcissistic traits (n=196), and NPD (n=91). NPD classification required meeting the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-5 Screening Personality Questionnaire (SCID-5-SPQ) threshold and telephone-based diagnostic confirmation. The traits group scored ≥8 on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory-16 (NPI-16) but did not meet the SCID-5-SPQ threshold; healthy participants scored below both thresholds. Participants completed Persian versions of the Young Schema Questionnaire-Short Form 3, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and Heartland Forgiveness Scale. Multivariate analysis of covariance controlled for age, education, and marital status.
Results: Both narcissistic groups scored higher than healthy participants on emotional deprivation, F (2, 486) = 6.65, P = 0.001, η²p = 0.027; defectiveness/shame, F (2, 486) = 7.00, P = 0.001, η²p = 0.028; and entitlement/grandiosity, F (2, 486) = 28.52, P < 0.001, η²p = 0.105. NPD participants reported higher perspective-taking than both groups, F (2, 486) = 10.57, P < 0.001, η²p = 0.042, and higher soothing than healthy participants, F (2, 486) = 6.87, P = 0.001, η²p = 0.027. Healthy participants reported higher self-forgiveness than NPD participants, F (2, 486) = 5.14, P = 0.006, η²p = 0.021, and higher forgiveness of others than both narcissistic groups, F (2, 486) = 13.33, P < 0.001, η²p = 0.052. Situational forgiveness differed, F (2, 486) = 11.07, P < 0.001, η²p = 0.044, with healthy > traits > NPD. No differences emerged in enhancing positive affect, social modeling, suppression, or cognitive reappraisal.
Conclusion: schema vulnerabilities and forgiveness difficulties may be associated with narcissistic traits and NPD, while perspective-taking and situational forgiveness may differentiate NPD from trait-level narcissism. Findings are associative, not causal.
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22. Hampton LE, Carruth NP, Lurquin JH, Miyake A. Personality correlates of dispositional forgiveness: a direct comparison of interpersonal and self-forgiveness using common transgression scenarios. Front Psychol. 2023;14:1218663.
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24. Reis S, Huxley E, Eng Yong Feng B, Grenyer BFS. Pathological Narcissism and Emotional Responses to Rejection: The Impact of Adult Attachment. Front Psychol. 2021;12:679168.
25. McCullough ME, Emmons RA, Kilpatrick SD, Mooney CN. Narcissists as "Victims": the role of narcissism in the perception of transgressions. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2003;29(7):885-93.
26. Zaki J, Williams WC. Interpersonal emotion regulation. Emotion. 2013;13(5):803-10.
27. Gross JJ. Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychol Inq. 2015;26(1):1-26.
28. Fatfouta R, Zeigler-Hill V, Schröder-Abé M. I’m merciful, am I not? Facets of narcissism and forgiveness revisited. J Res Pers. 2017;70:166-73.
29. Nedeljković B, Dinić B, Tucaković L. The dark triad and forgiveness: The mediating role of anger rumination. Pers Individ Dif. 2023;215:112362.
30. Li J, Struthers CW, Rebrov DO, Shoikhedbrod A, Guilfoyle JR. The association between victims' vulnerable and grandiose narcissism and grudge holding. J Soc Psychol. 2025;165(1):21-36.
31. Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang AG, Buchner A. G*Power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods. 2007;39(2):175-91.
32. Pilkington PD, Karantzas GC, Faustino B, Pizarro-Campagna E. Early maladaptive schemas, emotion regulation difficulties and alexithymia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2024;31(1):e2914.
33. Young JE. Young schema questionnaire--Short form. Cognit Ther Res. 1998.
34. Yousefi N, Shirbagi N. Validating the young early maladaptive schema questionnaire (YEMSQ) among students. 2010.
35. Ghiasi M, Molavi M, Neshatdost H, Salavati M. The factor structure of Farsi version of Young Schema Questionnaire-S3 in two groups in Tehran. Psychological Achievements. 2011;18(1):93-118.
36. Thompson LY, Snyder CR, Hoffman L, Michael ST, Rasmussen HN, Billings LS, et al. Dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations. J Pers. 2005;73(2):313-59.
37. Ebrahimi M, Azkhosh M, Shoaai F, Froughan M, Dolatshahi B. Psychometric properties of Persian version of Heartland Forgiveness Scale in elderly. Iranian Journal of Rehabilitation Research. 2017;3(4):9-20.
38. Lotfi M, Shiasy Y, Amini M, Mansori K, Hamzezade S, Salehi A, et al. Investigating psychometric properties of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ) in university students. Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. 2020;30(185):74-85.
39. Gross JJ. Handbook of emotion regulation: Guilford publications; 2013.
40. Ames DR, Rose P, Anderson CP. The NPI-16 as a short measure of narcissism. J Res Pers. 2006;40(4):440-50.
41. Mohammadzadeh A. Iranian validation of the narcissistic personality inventory-16. Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health. 2010;11(4):274-81.
42. Gharrae B, Masoumian S, Zamirinejad S, Yaghmaeezadeh H. Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Self-report Personality Questionnaire for Personality Disorders of DSM-5 (SCID-5-SPQ) in Clinical Samples. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. 2022;27(4):508–19.
43. Pincus AL, Lukowitsky MR. Pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2010;6:421-46.
44. Walker SA, Olderbak S, Gorodezki J, Zhang M, Ho C, MacCann C. Primary and secondary psychopathy relate to lower cognitive reappraisal: A meta-analysis of the Dark Triad and emotion regulation processes. Pers Individ Dif. 2022;187:111394.
45. Reis S, Huxley E, Eng Yong Feng B, Grenyer BFS. Pathological Narcissism and Emotional Responses to Rejection: The Impact of Adult Attachment. Front Psychol. 2021;12:679168.
46. Williams WC, Morelli SA, Ong DC, Zaki J. Interpersonal emotion regulation: Implications for affiliation, perceived support, relationships, and well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2018;115(2):224-54.
47. Miller JD, Lynam DR, Hyatt CS, Campbell WK. Controversies in Narcissism. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2017;13:291-315.
48. Exline JJ, Baumeister RF, Bushman BJ, Campbell WK, Finkel EJ. Too proud to let go: narcissistic entitlement as a barrier to forgiveness. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2004;87(6):894-912.
49. Ronningstam E. Narcissistic personality disorder: a clinical perspective. J Psychiatr Pract. 2011;17(2):89-99.
2. Wilson S, Stroud CB, Durbin CE. Interpersonal dysfunction in personality disorders: A meta-analytic review. Psychol Bull. 2017;143(7):677-734.
3. Monaghan C, Bizumic B. Dimensional models of personality disorders: Challenges and opportunities. Front Psychiatry. 2023;14:1098452.
4. Weinberg I, Ronningstam E. Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Progress in Understanding and Treatment. Focus (Am Psychiatr Publ). 2022;20(4):368-77.
5. Cain NM, Pincus AL, Ansell EB. Narcissism at the crossroads: phenotypic description of pathological narcissism across clinical theory, social/personality psychology, and psychiatric diagnosis. Clin Psychol Rev. 2008;28(4):638-56.
6. Krizan Z, Herlache AD. The Narcissism Spectrum Model: A Synthetic View of Narcissistic Personality. Pers Soc Psychol Rev. 2018;22(1):3-31.
7. Bahrami B, Safarloo N. Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory-Short Form (FFNI-SF). Iran J Psychiatry. 2023;18(2):173-82.
8. Young JE, Klosko JS, Weishaar ME. Schema therapy: A practitioner's guide: guilford press; 2006.
9. Bär A, Bär HE, Rijkeboer MM, Lobbestael J. Early Maladaptive Schemas and Schema Modes in clinical disorders: A systematic review. Psychol Psychother. 2023;96(3):716-47.
10. 8. Young JE, Klosko JS, Weishaar ME. Schema therapy: A practitioner's guide: guilford press; 2006
11. Jadidi M, Ramezani KZ. Prediction of narcissism based on narcissistic needs, maladaptive schemas and defense mechanisms in female and male students of Tehran universities. 2023.
12. Vida D, Láng A, Áfra E, Kemény V, Czibor A, Csapó G, et al. In the mind of Narcissus: The mediating role of emotional regulation in the emergence of distorted cognitions. Scand J Psychol. 2024;65(4):729-34.
13. Petrova K, Gross JJ. The Future of Emotion Regulation Research: Broadening Our Field of View. Affect Sci. 2023;4(4):609-16.
14. Hofmann SG, Carpenter JK, Curtiss J. Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ): Scale Development and Psychometric Characteristics. Cognit Ther Res. 2016;40(3):341-56.
15. Queiroga MR, da Silva DF, Ferreira SA, Weber VMR, Fernandes DZ, Cavazzotto TG, et al. Characterization of Reproductive and Morphological Variables in Female Elite Futsal Players. Front Psychol. 2021;12:625354.
16. Blay M, Cham MA, Duarte M, Ronningstam E. Association between Pathological Narcissism and Emotion Dysregulation: A Systematic Review. Psychopathology. 2024;57(4):297-317.
17. Cipriano A, Cantone D, Guerriera C, Rosato MS, Cotrufo P, Cella S. Narcissistic vulnerability and binge eating in adolescence: The mediating role of emotion dysregulation and dissociative experiences. Journal of Affective Disorders Reports. 2024;16:100737.
18. Loeffler LAK, Huebben AK, Radke S, Habel U, Derntl B. The Association Between Vulnerable/Grandiose Narcissism and Emotion Regulation. Front Psychol. 2020;11:519330.
19. Zhang H, Wang Z, You X, Lü W, Luo Y. Associations between narcissism and emotion regulation difficulties: Respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity as a moderator. Biol Psychol. 2015;110:1-11.
20. Ghapanchi A, Abasi I, Rimes KA, Bitarafan M, Zarabi H, Derakhshan FS, et al. Psychometric Evaluation of a Persian Version of Beliefs about Emotions Scale in Community and Clinical Samples. Iran J Psychiatry. 2024;19(1):89-98.
21. Kim JJ, Payne ES, Tracy EL. Indirect Effects of Forgiveness on Psychological Health Through Anger and Hope: A Parallel Mediation Analysis. J Relig Health. 2022;61(5):3729-46.
22. Hampton LE, Carruth NP, Lurquin JH, Miyake A. Personality correlates of dispositional forgiveness: a direct comparison of interpersonal and self-forgiveness using common transgression scenarios. Front Psychol. 2023;14:1218663.
23. Vismaya A, Gopi A, Romate J, Rajkumar E. Psychological interventions to promote self-forgiveness: a systematic review. BMC Psychol. 2024;12(1):258.
24. Reis S, Huxley E, Eng Yong Feng B, Grenyer BFS. Pathological Narcissism and Emotional Responses to Rejection: The Impact of Adult Attachment. Front Psychol. 2021;12:679168.
25. McCullough ME, Emmons RA, Kilpatrick SD, Mooney CN. Narcissists as "Victims": the role of narcissism in the perception of transgressions. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2003;29(7):885-93.
26. Zaki J, Williams WC. Interpersonal emotion regulation. Emotion. 2013;13(5):803-10.
27. Gross JJ. Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychol Inq. 2015;26(1):1-26.
28. Fatfouta R, Zeigler-Hill V, Schröder-Abé M. I’m merciful, am I not? Facets of narcissism and forgiveness revisited. J Res Pers. 2017;70:166-73.
29. Nedeljković B, Dinić B, Tucaković L. The dark triad and forgiveness: The mediating role of anger rumination. Pers Individ Dif. 2023;215:112362.
30. Li J, Struthers CW, Rebrov DO, Shoikhedbrod A, Guilfoyle JR. The association between victims' vulnerable and grandiose narcissism and grudge holding. J Soc Psychol. 2025;165(1):21-36.
31. Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang AG, Buchner A. G*Power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods. 2007;39(2):175-91.
32. Pilkington PD, Karantzas GC, Faustino B, Pizarro-Campagna E. Early maladaptive schemas, emotion regulation difficulties and alexithymia: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Psychol Psychother. 2024;31(1):e2914.
33. Young JE. Young schema questionnaire--Short form. Cognit Ther Res. 1998.
34. Yousefi N, Shirbagi N. Validating the young early maladaptive schema questionnaire (YEMSQ) among students. 2010.
35. Ghiasi M, Molavi M, Neshatdost H, Salavati M. The factor structure of Farsi version of Young Schema Questionnaire-S3 in two groups in Tehran. Psychological Achievements. 2011;18(1):93-118.
36. Thompson LY, Snyder CR, Hoffman L, Michael ST, Rasmussen HN, Billings LS, et al. Dispositional forgiveness of self, others, and situations. J Pers. 2005;73(2):313-59.
37. Ebrahimi M, Azkhosh M, Shoaai F, Froughan M, Dolatshahi B. Psychometric properties of Persian version of Heartland Forgiveness Scale in elderly. Iranian Journal of Rehabilitation Research. 2017;3(4):9-20.
38. Lotfi M, Shiasy Y, Amini M, Mansori K, Hamzezade S, Salehi A, et al. Investigating psychometric properties of Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (IERQ) in university students. Journal of Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences. 2020;30(185):74-85.
39. Gross JJ. Handbook of emotion regulation: Guilford publications; 2013.
40. Ames DR, Rose P, Anderson CP. The NPI-16 as a short measure of narcissism. J Res Pers. 2006;40(4):440-50.
41. Mohammadzadeh A. Iranian validation of the narcissistic personality inventory-16. Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health. 2010;11(4):274-81.
42. Gharrae B, Masoumian S, Zamirinejad S, Yaghmaeezadeh H. Psychometric Properties of the Persian Version of the Self-report Personality Questionnaire for Personality Disorders of DSM-5 (SCID-5-SPQ) in Clinical Samples. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology. 2022;27(4):508–19.
43. Pincus AL, Lukowitsky MR. Pathological narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2010;6:421-46.
44. Walker SA, Olderbak S, Gorodezki J, Zhang M, Ho C, MacCann C. Primary and secondary psychopathy relate to lower cognitive reappraisal: A meta-analysis of the Dark Triad and emotion regulation processes. Pers Individ Dif. 2022;187:111394.
45. Reis S, Huxley E, Eng Yong Feng B, Grenyer BFS. Pathological Narcissism and Emotional Responses to Rejection: The Impact of Adult Attachment. Front Psychol. 2021;12:679168.
46. Williams WC, Morelli SA, Ong DC, Zaki J. Interpersonal emotion regulation: Implications for affiliation, perceived support, relationships, and well-being. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2018;115(2):224-54.
47. Miller JD, Lynam DR, Hyatt CS, Campbell WK. Controversies in Narcissism. Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2017;13:291-315.
48. Exline JJ, Baumeister RF, Bushman BJ, Campbell WK, Finkel EJ. Too proud to let go: narcissistic entitlement as a barrier to forgiveness. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2004;87(6):894-912.
49. Ronningstam E. Narcissistic personality disorder: a clinical perspective. J Psychiatr Pract. 2011;17(2):89-99.
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How to Cite
1.
Miralikhani R, Ahmadi G, Shiyasi M, Safikhani Z, Mousavi SE. Early Maladaptive Schemas, Emotion Regulation, and Forgiveness Across the Narcissism Spectrum: A Dimensional Comparative Study. Iran J Psychiatry. 2026;:1-10.
