Hedy Stegge

Trumping Shame by Blasts of Noise: Narcissism, Self-Esteem, Shame, and Aggression in Young Adolescents.

This experiment tested how self-views influence shame-induced aggression. One hundred and sixty-three young adolescents (M = 12.2 years) completed measures of narcissism and self-esteem. They lost to an ostensible opponent on a competitive task. In the shame condition, they were told that their opponent was bad, and they saw their own name at the bottom of a ranking list. In the control condition, they were told nothing about their opponent and did not see a ranking list. Next, participants could blast their opponent with noise (aggression measure). As expected, narcissistic children were more aggressive than others, but only after they had been shamed. Low self-esteem did not lead to aggression. In fact, narcissism in combination with high self-esteem led to exceptionally high aggression.

Children's understanding of guilt and shame

Childrens conceptions of the self-conscious emotions guilt versus shame were investigated. In Study 1, 10-12-year-old children answered questions about scenarios that should elicit feelings of guilt and/or shame (moral transgressions and social blunders). In Study 2, 7-9- and 10-12-year-old children completed a sorting task to ascertain the features they associate with guilt and shame

Development and validation of the childhood narcissism scale

In this article, we describe the development and validation of a short (10 item) but comprehensive self-report measure of childhood narcissism. The Childhood Narcissism Scale (CNS) is a 1-dimensional measure of stable individual differences in childhood narcissism with strong internal consistency reliability (Studies 1–4). The CNS is virtually unrelated to conventional measures of self-esteem but is positively related to self-appraised superiority, social evaluative concern and self-esteem contingency, agentic interpersonal goals, and emotional extremity (Study 5). Furthermore, the CNS is negatively related to empathic concern and positively related to aggression following ego threat (Study 6). These results suggest that childhood narcissism has similar psychological and interpersonal correlates as adult narcissism. The CNS provides researchers a convenient tool for measuring narcissism in children and young adolescents with strong preliminary psychometric characteristics.

Measuring psychopathic traits in children through self-report: The development of the Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory - Child version

The current article investigates whether self-reports of children provide reliable and valid information concerning psychopathic personality traits and behaviours. For this purpose, we developed a downward extension of an existing adolescent self-report measure; the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory [YPI; Andershed, H., Kerr, M., Stattin, H., & Levander, S. (2002). Psychopathic traits in non-referred youths: Initial test of a new assessment tool. In E.S. Blaauw, L. (Ed.), Psychopaths: Current international perspectives (pp. 131-158): The Hague: Elsevier], called the Youth Psychopathic traits Inventory-Child Version (YPI-CV). The reliability and validity of the YPI-CV were tested in n=360 children from the general population. The YPI-CV had good internal consistency and a three factor structure similar to the original adolescent version. Test-retest reliability over a 6-month period was adequate. In validating the instrument, both self, teacher and peer report were used. The convergent and divergent validity of the three YPI-CV dimensions was examined by relating each of them to an external criterion measures assessing the same construct. It was concluded that psychopathic traits can be measured reliably and meaningfully through self-report in 9 to 12 year olds and that the YPI-CV is potentially a useful instrument for doing so.

Shame and guilt in children: Differential situational antecedents and experiential correlates.

Situational antecedents and experiential correlates of shame and guilt in children were examined by having 6-11-year-olds give ratings of the extent to which two types of situations would elicit a protagonists feelings of shame and guilt. It was predicted that one type of situation should elicit both shame and guilt, because the protagonist caused harm to another person by behaving incoherently or incompetently. The other type of situation was predicted to elicit more shame than guilt, because the protagonist behaved incoherently or incompetently without causing harm to anyone. Two types of questions were used to elicit childrens ratings: in term-based questions the emotion terms ‘guilt’ and ‘shame’ were used, while in correlate-based questions guilt and shame were alluded to by citing experiential correlates of these emotions. Children aged 9 and upward differentiated between both types of situations and between judgments of shame vs. guilt, both when giving term-based and when giving correlate-based ratings. There were no systematic differences in childrens performance depending on whether they gave correlate-based or term-based judgments.

What makes narcissists bloom? A framework for research on the etiology and development of narcissism

Narcissism is a dynamic form of personality characterized by a pervasive sense of grandiosity and self-importance, and by a need to obtain continuous self-validation from others. Very little is known about its etiology and development. What factors (e.g., temperament, parenting experiences) and processes (e.g., transactions between these factors over time) cause some children to become more narcissistic than others? When does narcissism first emerge, and how does narcissism develop over time? This article describes a framework for research on the etiology and development of narcissism, and recommends ten research priorities. This research should yield fundamental knowledge and should inform intervention efforts to minimize the negative impact narcissistic individuals have on themselves and on others.

The development of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in early elementary school children: The role of peer rejection

Conduct problems in childhood often co-occur with symptoms of depression. This study explored whether the development of conduct problems becomes indirectly linked to depressive symptoms in a sample of 323 kindergarten children, followed over a period of 2 school years. Results showed that the development of conduct problems was indirectly linked to the development of depressive symptoms via experiences of peer rejection. These links were similar for boys and girls. Results underscore that part of the development of childhood symptoms of depression in the early years of school can be explained by a cascade effect in which the development of conduct problems results into poor peer experiences, which ultimately predict depressive symptoms.

Brief Report : Self-Presentation of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders

The self-presentational behaviour of 43 6- to 12-year-old children with high functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASD) and normal intelligence and 43 matched comparisons was investigated. Children were prompted to describe themselves twice, first in a baseline condition and then in a condition where they were asked to convince others to select them for a desirable activity (self-promotion). Even after controlling for theory of mind skills, children with HFASD used fewer positive self-statements at baseline, and were less goal-directed during self-promotion than comparison children. Children with HFASD alter their self-presentation when seeking personal gain, but do this less strategically and convincingly than typically-developing children.

Children’s Understanding of the Strategic Control of Negative Emotions

The action sequence described in this little story nicely illustrates a six-year-old girl’s resilience in a situation of emotional distress. It not only shows that this child makes use of several strategies to cope with the stressful event, but also that these coping options are employed in a particular order. Initially, the little girl acts according to a basic reaction tendency: when an aversive stimulus is encountered, she withdraws from the situation. Apparently overwhelmed by the intensity of her negative feeling state, she can only run in order to seek comfort elsewhere. Later on, when she’s quietened down a bit, she recognizes the inappropriateness of this action from a social relationship point of view and tries to make it up with her friend. Finally, as it becomes clear that her friend does not respond to her plea, she takes refuge in a mental solution. A reappraisal of the mutual friendship relation results in a negative evaluation of her playmate: ’she’s bossy and stupid’. This mental manipulation subsequently influences the little girl’s behaviour as well. As her former friend does not deserve her loyalty any more, the girl feels free to make a new friend, which she does with amazing speed and determination.

Externalizing shame responses in children: The role of fragile-positive self-esteem

When faced with shame, children can either respond in submissive ways to withdraw from their environment or in externalizing ways to oppose their environment. This study tested the hypothesis that fragile-positive views of self predispose children to respond in externalizing ways to shame situations. Narcissism, actual and perceived social preference, global self-worth and propensity towards externalizing shame responding were measured in 122 pre-adolescent children. As expected, results revealed that narcissism, in contrast to global self-worth, was associated with externalizing shame responding. In addition, actual but not perceived social preference was inversely related to externalizing shame responding, suggesting that the social self-perceptions of children prone to employ externalizing shame responses may be inflated. Discussion focuses on the self-regulatory function of externalizing shame responses.