Running head: BODY IMAGE AND NARCISSISM 1

The Relationship Between Body Image and Narcissism

John W. Cella

Loras College
BODY IMAGE AND NARCISSISM 2

Abstract

Some people are very self-centered. Some people are self-conscious about their body image.

Excessive narcissistic attitudes can bring can possibly bring an effect on a person’s feelings

about their body. Especially with college students. The result of the correlation could bring

awareness of further research done in this area. There were two surveys sent out to 100 Loras

College students (60 male, 40 female). One was to assess the levels of narcissism in a person,

and the other was to assess a person’s level of content with their body. The results from each

survey was run through a Pearson’s correlation test. The correlation value came out to be

-0.08634682 which indicated that narcissism and body image were not significantly correlated.
BODY IMAGE AND NARCISSISM 3

The Relationship Between Body Image and Narcissism

The concept of body image could create a big impact on people. It could be the

foundation of certain mood and eating disorders such depression or anorexia. What people might

not realize is that certain personality disorders play a role in body image. Psychiatric patients

with borderline personality disorder can show a good amount of disturbances with body image.

Experimenters used a convenient sample to survey 126 women from an inpatient psychiatric

facility. The results demonstrated that people with borderline personality disorder are not

interested in their own appearance as a foundation of self-fulfillment but evaluated their own

appearance in a more negative way and were more likely to believe that physical attractiveness is

a critical factor for personal happiness and acceptance (Sansone, Chu, & Wiederman, 2010).

Borderline personality disorder, as well as other personality disorders, can impact an individual

tremendously.

Narcissism and general self-esteem have been led to predict unrealistic positive illusions

in determination of intelligence and attractiveness in their physical appearance. The use of

narcissism can delude a person to have egotistical expectations of themselves. These positive

illusions for physical attractiveness and intelligence that people can have are correlated (Gabriel,

Critelli, & Ee, 1994).

Narcissism and body image both could be connected to certain groups of people.

Specifically, college students. With people between the ages of 18 and 22, there could be a deep

connection between having a self-centered mindset and a self-conscious view of what their body

looks like. What that connection determines is that narcissistic people have more favorable body

images (Jackson, Ervin, & Hodge, 1992).

BODY IMAGE AND NARCISSISM 4

There can be differences in gender when the uses of narcissism and body image come

interconnected in an individual. Narcissism can be manifested both by healthy and pathological

behaviors and attitudes. This has been examined to determine the joint impact on body esteem of

narcissism with women. There have been regression analyses on it, and what it concluded was

that the adaptive and maladaptive aspects of narcissism were interactively related to body esteem

in young women. The impact of body image and narcissism can be extremely detrimental.

Method

Information was gather from two different sources. Two surveys were sent out to two

different groups of college students. The first group was 38 college students, and they were given

the Body-Cathexis made by researchers Dr. Franzoli and Dr. Shields. Each scale item on this

scale was determined on a 5-point Likert scale. A “five” is where you have extremely positive

feelings towards that body part and a “one” is where you have extremely negative feelings

towards that body part. The second group was 40 college students, and they were given the NPI-

40, which is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory. It is a 40 question, forced choice, survey

intended to calculate the level of narcissism present in a person. The results from each group was

ran through a Pearson’s correlation test.

Participants

There were 100 Loras College student (40 female, 60 male). All between the ages of 18

and 22.

Body-Cathexis scale
BODY IMAGE AND NARCISSISM 5

The first survey that was given to the students was the Body-Cathexis scale made by

researchers Dr. Franzoli and Dr. Shields. The survey had 39 items that asked about different body

parts such as lips, hair, ears, waist and others that had a five-point Likert scale on each one. A

“five” is where you have extremely positive feelings towards that body part and a “one” is where

you have extremely negative feelings towards that body part (Franzoi & Shields, 1984).

NPI-16

The second survey used was a modification of the NPI-16. The NPI-16 is a shortened

version of the NPI-40. The NPI-40 is the Narcissistic Personality Inventory and it is a 40

question, forced choice, survey intended to calculate the level of narcissism present in a person.

Researchers Ames, Rose, and Anderson took what they thought were the 16 best questions from

the NPI-40 and put together the NPI-16 with them (Ames, Rose, & Anderson, 2006).

Procedure

The researcher gave both surveys out to each student individually and gave them all a

date of when to complete it by. The researcher explained to each student the what each survey

would consist of and how the results were being used. The data were recorded when the students

turned in the surveys they completed.

Results

To test the hypothesis of the NPI-16 (M=5.019033, SD=2.869269) and Body-Cathexis

scale (M=142.278, SD=27.76775) caused a correlation between narcissism and body esteem, a

Pearson’s correlation test was performed. The results then indicated that the two variables were

not significantly correlated (t(98)=-0.85799, p=0.393, r=-0.08634682).

BODY IMAGE AND NARCISSISM 6

Discussion

The hypothesis going into this study was that there was a significant correlation between

narcissism and body image. The research provided determined that there was a correlation

between narcissism and body image. For example, narcissism and general self-esteem have been

led to predict unrealistic positive illusions in determination of intelligence and attractiveness in

their physical appearance (Gabriel, Critelli, & Ee, 1994). Also, further research suggested that

narcissistic people have more favorable body images (Jackson, Ervin, & Hodge, 1992).

However, according to the results from the correlation test, narcissism and body image are not

significantly correlated. The limitations from this study included the process of bringing all of

the students together and having them take each survey. There were restrictions that were

resolved by getting consent from the participants to take each survey. The implication of this

study was to see if the self-centeredness of a person is connected to how they feel about their

own bodies. Another implication was to see if body image was related to personality disorders.

Future research from this study could include body image correlation to depressive disorders,

and mental health screenings for those with eating disorders. As well as coordinating research for

different demographics such as children, elderly, and different races and cultures.
BODY IMAGE AND NARCISSISM 7

References

Ames, Daniel R., Rose, Paul, and Anderson, Cameron P. (2006). The NPI-16 as a short measure

of narcissism. Journal of Research in Personality, 40, 440-450

Davis, C., Claridge, G., & Cerullo, D. (1997). Reflections on narcissism: Conflicts about body-

image perceptions in women. Personality and Individual Differences, 22(3), 309-316.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1016/S0191-8869(96)00210-3

Franzoi, S. L., & Shields, S. A. (1984). The body esteem scale: Multidimensional structure and

sex differences in a college population. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48(2), 173-178.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1207/s15327752jpa4802_12

Gabriel, M. T., Critelli, J. W., & Ee, J. S. (1994). Narcissistic illusions in self-evaluations of

intelligence and attractiveness. Journal of Personality, 62(1), 143-155.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1111/j.1467-6494.1994.tb00798.x

Jackson, L. A., Ervin, K. S., & Hodge, C. N. (1992). Narcissism and body image. Journal of

Research in Personality, 26(4), 357-370.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1016/0092-6566(92)90065-C

Sansone, R. A., Chuc, J. W., & Wiederman, M. W. (2010). Body image and borderline

personality disorder among psychiatric inpatients. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 51(6), 579-

584. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.loras.edu/10.1016/j.comppsych.2010.04.001
BODY IMAGE AND NARCISSISM 8