Narcissistic admiration and rivalry in relation to aggressive sexual behavior among women and men

Narcissism has been linked with aggressive sexual behavior, but no extant research has specifically examined the agentic and antagonistic features of grandiose narcissism (i.e., narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry, respectively) in relation to a wider array of aggressive sexual behaviors among both men and women. The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between narcissistic admiration and narcissistic rivalry, sex, and different types of aggressive sexual behavior (i.e., coercion and seduction). College students (N = 1342) completed an online survey. Narcissistic rivalry was associated with higher levels of both coercion and seduction, while narcissistic admiration was only associated with higher levels of seduction. Sex moderated the relationship between narcissistic rivalry and aggressive sexual behavior such that women with higher levels of narcissistic rivalry were more likely to have engaged in aggressive sexual behavior. These findings indicate that narcissistic rivalry may be a significant risk factor for severe aggressive sexual behavior.