The bright side of dark: exploring the positive effect of grandiose narcissism on perceived stress through mental toughness

Previous research reported that Subclinical Narcissism (SN) may increase Mental Toughness (MT) resulting in positive outcomes such as lower psychopathy, higher school grades and lower symptoms of depression. We conducted three studies (N = 364, 240 and 144 for studies 1, 2 and 3, respectively) to test a mediation model, which suggests that SN may increase MT predicting lower Perceived Stress (PS). The participants were drawn from the general population in studies 1 and 2; and were undergraduate students in study 3. SN exerted a negative indirect effect on PS, through MT across all three studies: β = -.26, SE = .039, 95% CI [-.338, -.187]); β = -.25, SE = .050, 95% CI [-.358, -.160]); β = -.31, SE = .078, 95% CI [-.473, -.168]). The results were replicated in the combined dataset. In study 3, we extended the sensitivity of the model showing that, it is the Grandiose SN that decreases PS, through MT; Vulnerable SN exhibited the reverse pattern. The findings indicate that the model, from SN to MT, may predict positive outcomes in various domains (e.g. in education and psychopathology) suggesting that inclusion of SN in the dark triad of personality may need to be reconsidered

Grandiose narcissism indirectly associates with lower psychopathology across five Countries

Using five independent non-clinical cross-cultural samples (total N = 3649; overall Mage = 29.31; 31% male and 69% female), this study explored the extent to which Dark Triad traits were indirectly associated with symptoms of psychopathology through mental toughness. Although Machiavellianism and psychopathy have not been studied extensively in this context, previous research (both cross-sectional and longitudinal) reports that grandiose narcissism increases mental toughness contributing indirectly to positive outcomes such as lower anxiety, stress, and depression. Accordingly, this study examined Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism in the context of mental toughness and psychopathology. A particular focus was placed on investigating negative relationships between grandiose narcissism and psychopathology. Participants completed self-report measures assessing the Dark Triad, mental toughness, and psychopathology. In all samples, grandiose narcissism exerted moderate negative, indirect associations with anxiety, stress, and depression through mental toughness. Relationships between Machiavellianism and psychopathy and psychopathology were generally weak and positive but varied across countries. Findings provided further cross-cultural support for a mediation model in which grandiose narcissism is related to higher mental toughness and lower psychopathology. Outcomes from this study indicate that exploration of the link between grandiose narcissism and resilience traits such as mental toughness can provide important conceptual insights into the adaptive properties of narcissism, and help to explain why grandiose narcissism is associated with a decrease in some psychopathological symptoms

How culturally unique are pandemic effects? Evaluating cultural similarities and differences in effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on COVID impacts

Despite being bio-epidemiological phenomena, the causes and effects of pandemics are culturally influenced in ways that go beyond national boundaries. However, they are often studied in isolated pockets, and this fact makes it difficult to parse the unique influence of specific cultural psychologies. To help fill in this gap, the present study applies existing cultural theories via linear mixed modeling to test the influence of unique cultural factors in a multi-national sample (that moves beyond Western nations) on the effects of age, biological sex, and political beliefs on pandemic outcomes that include adverse financial impacts, adverse resource impacts, adverse psychological impacts, and the health impacts of COVID. Our study spanned 19 nations (participant N = 14,133) and involved translations into 9 languages. Linear mixed models revealed similarities across cultures, with both young persons and women reporting worse outcomes from COVID across the multi-national sample. However, these effects were generally qualified by culture-specific variance, and overall more evidence emerged for effects unique to each culture than effects similar across cultures. Follow-up analyses suggested this cultural variability was consistent with models of pre-existing inequalities and socioecological stressors exacerbating the effects of the pandemic. Collectively, this evidence highlights the importance of developing culturally flexible models for understanding the cross-cultural nature of pandemic psychology beyond typical WEIRD approaches

Factors and parameters of the EU performance in international organisations : a theoretical framework

The formulation of a distinctive and visible profile on the international stage is one of the central, challenging issues that the European Union has faced over recent decades. Developing this profile is essentially determined by (a) how the EU negotiates in diverse international contexts and (b) what are the outcomes of these negotiations. This paper aims to unravel the negotiating approach the EU follows in different circumstances. To do so, we employ an inductive approach, examining the EU’s negotiating behaviour in: (a) the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) and (b) the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The case-studies pertain to the EU’s involvement in international human rights negotiations, thus offering valuable input both to the specific literature and to the literature on the EU’s international performance. We propose an ex post theoretical framework on the EU negotiating tactics in the United Nations (UN), identifying the factors and the parameters which condition its negotiating strategy and its international performance

The limits of norm promotion: the EU in Egypt and Israel/Palestine

Policy implications aside, assessing the EU’s involvement in the Mediterranean region necessitates a reconsideration of the impact and limits of the so-called ‘normative power’ upon which its approach has been based, implicitly or explicitly. This paper does so by examining the EU’s engagement with Egypt and the Israel-Palestine conflict; it sets out to challenge the notion that EU-style normative power alone is well-suited to promote democracy and regional cooperation, particularly in regions with diverging dynamics where the promotion of EU-associated norms may stumble upon European trade- and diplomacy-related interests. In this sense, it aims to enrich and inform the debates on ‘normative power Europe’ and Euro-Mediterranean relations

The formation of the EU negotiating strategy at the UN : the case of human rights

First published online: 26 January 2018Existing research on the European Union's (EU) activities at the international level typically pertains to how the EU acts, bargains and performs. However, scholarship less frequently examines how the EU formulates its negotiating strategy at international negotiation fora. Our analysis attempts to fill this gap by presenting an analytical framework to map the different features and parameters that determine and condition the EU negotiating strategy in multilateral contexts. We identify four features in two phases that shape the EU negotiating strategy: (a) goal-setting, (b) field analysis, (c) available means and (d) employed tactics. Each of these features contains additional parameters that, overall, define and constrain the EU's negotiating strategy. To test the relevance of our analytical framework, we delve into the determination of the EU human rights negotiating strategy at the United Nations

Los parlamentos nacionales de la UE y el reconocimiento de Palestina: ¿innovando «de verdad» o «solo» prestando más apoyo?

La diplomacia de la Unión Europea siempre ha prestado mucha atención al conflicto palestinoisraelí. Uno de los elementos clave en ello es el reconocimiento de un estado palestino. Este artículo analiza este aspecto en particular ahora que Suecia ha reconocido tal estado, pero lo ha hecho no solo teniendo en cuenta a las instituciones y estados de la UE: también cubre las reacciones de tres parlamentos nacionales: los de España, Italia y Grecia. Por tanto, este artículo enriquece tanto a los estudios sobre la diplomacia de la UE como a los de la diplomacia parlamentaria, lo que es un área emergente en la investigación académica

The Limits of Norm Promotion: The EU in Egypt and Israel/Palestine

Policy implications aside, assessing the EU’s involvement in the Mediterranean region necessitates a reconsideration of the impact and limits of the so-called ‘normative power’ upon which its approach has been based, implicitly or explicitly. This paper does so by examining the EU’s engagement with Egypt and the Israel-Palestine conflict; it sets out to challenge the notion that EU-style normative power alone is well-suited to promote democracy and regional cooperation, particularly in regions with diverging dynamics where the promotion of EU-associated norms may stumble upon European trade- and diplomacy-related interests. In this sense, it aims to enrich and inform the debates on ‘normative power Europe’ and Euro-Mediterranean relations