Guilt and Shame Proneness in Relations to Covert Narcissism Among Emerging Adults

The present research examined the experience of negative emotions such as guilt and shame proneness that impact entitled perceptions of covert narcissists’ own performance. The sample comprised 180 emerging adults, in the age group of 18-23 years. The measure of the study included Maladaptive Covert Narcissism (Cheek, Hendin, & Wink, 2013) and Guilt and Shame Proneness Scale (Cohen et al., 2010). It was hypothesized that there will be a significant relationship between Covert Narcissism and Shame and Guilt Proneness. Also, Guilt and Shame proneness will predict Covert Narcissism. The study also investigated gender differences on covert narcissism. The results of the study indicated that there was a positive correlation between covert narcissism and the two dimensions of shame proneness namely negative self- evaluation and shame withdrawal. Additionally, no significant relationship was found between guilt proneness and covert narcissism.