An Exploration of the Impact of Shame, Narcissism and Social Rank on the Distress and Wellbeing of Midadolescents: Does Self-Compassion Have a Role?

Background: Adolescence is a pivotal developmental period in the lifecycle. Aspects of shame, narcissism and social rank have all been associated with distress and wellbeing in adolescence, however no studies to date have investigated the impact of those constructs together in terms of their predictive value. Extant research has identified self-compassion as protective and associated with increased wellbeing.
Aims: This study aimed to explore the relationships between external, internal and shame proneness; grandiose and vulnerable narcissism; social comparison and submissive behaviour, and self-compassion; and to explore the impact of
those variables and the relationships between them upon psychological distress and wellbeing.
Method: From the pragmatist approach this study adopted a cross-sectional, quantitative approach. Mid-adolescents aged 16-17 (N=142) were recruited and invited to complete a battery of self-report questionnaires via school or online
survey. Correlation and regression analyses were performed to explore relationships and predictive associations between the variables and moderation analysis was performed to test the effects of self-compassion on the regression models.
Results: This population was found to be low in wellbeing and moderate in distress. Multiple regression analyses found distress was predicted by internal shame, shame proneness, submissive behaviour and vulnerable narcissism;
wellbeing was predicted by shame proneness; submissive behaviour and vulnerable narcissism (negatively) and social comparison and grandiose narcissism (positively). Self-compassion did not correlate with or predict distress, however its predictive power on wellbeing was marked. Moderation analyses showed self-compassion does not moderate distress or wellbeing.
Conclusion: These novel findings suggest two predictive models for shame, narcissism and social rank in distress and wellbeing for an adolescent population, and show the impact of self-compassion. A more selfcompassionate attitude was related to increased wellbeing, hence those high in distress could benefit from compassion-based interventions and educational initiatives. Further investigations are warranted.