Narcissistic personality features and ageism: The mediating role of global and general just world belief and unjust world belief

Abstract

The associations between narcissistic personality features and intergenerational tension ageism were examined, as well as whether these associations were mediated by the global and general justice world belief and unjust world belief to accompany these behaviors. The participants were 791 students from Iran, of whom 368 were male (46.5%) and 423 were female (53.5%). The age range of the participants was from 17 to 66 years, with an average of 30.35 and a standard deviation of 9.64. We used five questionnaires: the short form of the Five-Factor Narcissism Inventory, the intergenerational-tension ageism scale (SIC), the General Just World Belief Scale, the Global Just World Belief Scale, and the Unjust World Belief Scale. The results showed that different aspects of narcissism are related to intergenerational tension and justice and unjust world belief. One of the interesting and controversial results of this study is that unjust world belief as a moderating variable moderated the relationship between different types of narcissism and intergenerational tension, and this role was significant. These findings emphasize the importance of considering specific aspects of narcissism and examining the role of justice and unjust world belief and the specific psychological and social mechanisms that each can affect age discrimination and intergenerational tension in young people.