The Relationship between Narcissism and Abnormal Behavior Tendency and Assertiveness with the Mediating Role of Mindfulness among Active Students

Research shows that narcissistic traits such as self-conceit and entitlement are associated with delinquency and aggression in childhood and adolescence. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between narcissism and tendency to abnormal behavior and assertiveness with the mediating role of mindfulness among active students. The present study was a cross-sectional study of correlation with structural equation modeling. The statistical population was all male students in the second year of high schools in Torbat Heydarieh city, Northeastern Iran, in the academic year ۲۰۲۲-۲۰۲۳. According to the Morgan table, the size of the statistical sample was estimated to be ۲۰۰ active male students who were selected stratified random sampling method. The data collection tools included Baer et al.'s Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) (۲۰۰۶),  Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI-۴۰) from Raskin and Terry (۱۹۸۸), Rostami and Rad's Abnormal Behavior Tendency Questionnaire (۲۰۱۲), and Kotler and Giura's Assertiveness Questionnaire. Data analysis was done using structural equations with PLS version ۳ software. The findings showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between narcissism and tendency to abnormal behavior, and there was no significant relationship between assertiveness and tendency to abnormal behavior. The mediating role of mindfulness on the effect of assertiveness and the tendency to abnormal behavior was confirmed, but the mediating role of mindfulness on the effect of narcissism on the tendency to abnormal behavior was not confirmed. In order to reduce the tendency toward abnormal behavior in active students, it is recommended to strengthen assertiveness by mindfulness training, as well as designing educational and behavioral therapy programs to control narcissism.

Keywords:

Narcissism , Assertiveness , Mindfulness , Tendency to Abnormal Behavior , Active Students