Why and When Do Narcissists Aggress Celebrities Online? Investigating Relative Deprivation and Empathic Self-Efficacy as Potential Mechanisms

Abstract

In the era of advanced Internet technology, people have more and more opportunities to attack online celebrities through the Internet media. This not only hurts celebrities but subtly and gradually distorts public outlooks on the world and values. However, few studies have explored why and when narcissism is related to online celebrity aggression. The study focused on the relationship between narcissism and online celebrity aggression and the roles of relative deprivation and empathic selfefficacy. A total of 832 participants (female: 28.85%) aged from 17 to 25 years completed the questionnaire. The study found that relative deprivation mediated the relationship between narcissism and online celebrity aggression. Empathic self-efficacy buffered the relationship between narcissism and relative deprivation. The findings reveal the relationship between narcissism and online celebrity aggression and the underlying mechanisms, which enrich the related research in the field of cyberaggression and have some reference value for the intervention of cyberaggression.

Keywords

online celebrity aggression narcissism relative deprivation empathic self-efficacy cyberaggression

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