Cross-cultural pilot study on the relationship between study addiction and narcissism among undergraduate students in Poland and India

Abstract

Background Study addiction has been suggested as a potential early form of work addiction which is recently gaining increasing attention as a potential behavioural addiction. It was suggested that underlying psychological vulnerabilities can be risk factors for study/work addiction. Previous studies indicated that work addiction could be related to narcissistic personality. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate the relationship between study addiction and narcissism in the very distinct cultures of Poland and India. Participants and procedure In a pen-and-pencil cross-sectional study, the Bergen Study Addiction Scale, Single Item Narcissism Scale, and questions concerning demographics were administered to 1127 undergraduate students in Poland and 292 undergraduate students in India (Karnataka province). Results Study addiction was positively related to narcissistic personality among students in Poland, as well as among students in India. This relationship tended to be stronger in the sample from India, which may reflect the cultural differences; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Conclusions These initial results suggest that study addiction is positively related to narcissism, and potentially to a narcissistic personality disorder. Narcissism is a complex construct which has been gaining increasing attention in recent years. More sophisticated studies on its relationship with study and work addiction, especially in a cross-cultural context, are highly warranted.