Measuring the “Blue” Face of Narcissism: Psychometric Properties of Ukrainian Translation of the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale in Non-Clinical Groups

Aim. Little research has focused on hypersensitive narcissism in Slavic countries. One of the reasons for that is the absence of suitable inventories. The present study aims to make the Ukrainian adapted translation of the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale (HSNS) and to check for its psychometric properties in a non-clinical sample. Methods. To prepare materials, we first conducted a double-blind translation procedure with further linguistic analysis. The following two empirical studies to collect data for statistical analysis were then made. Results. The data shows adequate internal consistency and scale validity, as well as a three-factor structure (obtained with the principal components analysis [PCA]), in line with the theoretical background. However, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Cronbach’s alphas analysis yield the unidimensional scale to be the best fit for the Ukrainian version. The data also support evidence for maladaptive social relationship patterns of people with high HSNS scores. Conclusion. We proved vulnerable and grandiose narcissism are qualitatively different phenomena and showed how a cultural context of narcissism manifestation may be reflected through social interactions and self-attitude. HSNS in Ukrainian is a reliable and valid tool for complex psychological personality research among non-clinical adult samples. Practical application. The proposed translation of the HSNS is adapted to be used for research in Ukrainian culture, with Ukrainian-speaking respondents and psychologists’ and psychotherapists’ clients.