Narcissism and mindfulness: A preregistered systematic review and three-level meta-analysis

Mindfulness meditation is known to offer various benefits, including improvements in physical and mental health, whereas the personality trait narcissism has been associated with numerous negative psychological outcomes. As research concerning the mindfulness-narcissism link is limited, this review estimated both the direction and magnitude of this association and tested possible effect moderators. Comprehensive literature searches were conducted in PsycInfo, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, and Google Scholar (up to June 7, 2024). Two coders performed study coding and quality assessment. The pooled effect was estimated by applying a three-level meta-analytic model. Risk of bias was assessed with the Joanna Briggs Institute checklists. Twenty-six samples, yielding 119 effect sizes, were included in meta-analysis, totaling 10,858 participants. The meta-analytic synthesis indicated that narcissism overall was weakly negatively linked to mindfulness ( r = −0.10, 95 % CI [−0.20, −0.01], p = .037), which effect was more pronounced for the antagonistic and vulnerable narcissism facets. However, risk of bias across studies was high, and the magnitude and even the direction of the true effect remains unclear (95 % prediction interval: −0.64, 0.43). More high-quality research on the different aspects of narcissism is needed to derive implications for clinical settings. • Narcissism and mindfulness are weakly negatively linked. • Associations are more pronounced for antagonistic and vulnerable narcissism facets. • More high-quality research is still needed.