From narcissistic beliefs to problematic social media use: a serial mediation perspective

Social media offers opportunities for connection but also poses risks to well-being. This study examined the serial mediating effects of social media craving (SMC) and narcissistic admiration and rivalry (NANR), representing the two faces of grandiose narcissism, on the association between narcissistic personality beliefs (NPB) and problematic social media use (PSMU). The sample comprised 327 Turkish university students (188 women, 139 men; aged 18–33 years) with at least one year of social media use. Measures included the Social Media Disorder Scale (SMDS), Personality Belief Questionnaire–Short Form (PBQ-STF), Social Media Craving Scale (SMCS), and Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire–Short Form (NARQ-SF). Mediation analyses using Hayes’s Process Model 6 showed that NPB was both directly and indirectly associated with PSMU through SMC and NANR, with significant serial mediation effects.