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Meta-analysis of coefficient alpha for scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory

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  • Brian K Miller
  • Kay M Nicols
  • Silvia Clark
  • Alison Daniels
  • Whitney Grant

Abstract

The Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) has greatly facilitated the scientific study of trait narcissism. However, there is great variability in the reported reliability of scores on the NPI. This study meta-analyzes coefficient alpha for scores on the NPI and its sub-scales (e.g. entitlement) with transformed alphas weighted by the inverse of the variance of alpha. Three coders evaluated 1213 individual studies for possible inclusion and determined that 1122 independent samples were suitable for coding on 12 different characteristics of the sample, scale, and study. A fourth author cross-coded 15 percent of these samples resulting in 85 percent overall agreement. In the independent samples, comprised of 195,038 self-reports, the expected population coefficient alpha for the NPI was .82. The population value for alpha on the various sub-scales ranged from .48 for narcissistic self-sufficiency to .76 for narcissistic leadership/authority. Because significant heterogeneity existed in coded study alphas for the overall NPI, moderator tests and an explanatory model were also conducted and reported. It was found that longer scales, the use of a Likert response scale as opposed to the original forced choice response format, higher mean scores and larger standard deviations on the scale, as well as the use of samples with a larger percentage of female respondents were all positively related to the expected population alpha for scores on the overall NPI. These results will likely aid researchers who are concerned with the reliability of scores on the NPI in their research on non-clinical subjects.

Suggested Citation

  • Brian K Miller & Kay M Nicols & Silvia Clark & Alison Daniels & Whitney Grant, 2018. "Meta-analysis of coefficient alpha for scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(12), pages 1-16, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0208331
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0208331
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. William Revelle & Richard Zinbarg, 2009. "Coefficients Alpha, Beta, Omega, and the glb: Comments on Sijtsma," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 74(1), pages 145-154, March.
    2. A. Hakstian & Thomas Whalen, 1976. "A k-sample significance test for independent alpha coefficients," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 41(2), pages 219-231, June.
    3. Klaas Sijtsma, 2009. "On the Use, the Misuse, and the Very Limited Usefulness of Cronbach’s Alpha," Psychometrika, Springer;The Psychometric Society, vol. 74(1), pages 107-120, March.
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    1. Rayenda Khresna Brahmana & Maria Kontesa, 2023. "‘No Better Fund Without Me!’ Do Narcissistic Start-up Entrepreneurs Succeed in Venture Funding?," Journal of Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Emerging Economies, Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, vol. 32(3), pages 638-666, November.

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