University Archives

Depression is highly comorbid with personality pathology, yet the underlying personality mechanism that explains this robust association remains a central question. Malignant self-regard (MSR), a personality construct comprised of chronic unhappiness and dysphoria, perfectionism, self-criticism, and hypersensitivity to criticism. is theorized to be a core vulnerability factor (Huprich, Kuribayashi, & Voytenko, 2024). This study investigates the hypothesis that MSR is an underlying personality risk factor that enhances the association between diverse forms of personality pathology and depressive symptoms. We analyzed data from a non-clinical sample (N = 2643). Zero-order and partial correlations were computed to assess the relationships between measures of personality pathology (e.g., Pathological Narcissism Inventory [PNI] scales, Depressive Personality Disorder Inventory [DPDI]), and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI]), both before and after statistically controlling for the variance attributable to MSR. The results  support the hypothesis that MSR mediates the relationship of depression with many pathological personality constructs. a mediating role for MSR. Zero-order correlations showed significant associations between personality pathology variables and BDI scores. After partialing out MSR, these correlations were substantially attenuated and, in several key cases, reduced to non-significance. This indicates that the shared variance between these personality constructs and depression is largely accounted for by MSR. Findings provide preliminary evidence that MSR acts as a general latent factor through which various personality disturbances confer risk for depression. Targeting MSR in therapeutic interventions may be effective in addressing the depressive symptoms commonly observed in patients with personality pathology. 

Keywords: Malignant Self-Regard, Depression, Personality Pathology