Influence of Perceived Powerlessness, Narcissism, and Self-Esteem on Indirect Aggression among Thai Hotel Workers: A Path Analytic Model

Abstract

Abstract:This study examined perceived powerlessness and narcissism as predictors and self-esteem as mediator in the frequency of the use of indirect aggression among Thai female and male workers in the hotel industry. The participants obtained through purposive sampling consisted of 78 men and 131 women aged between 19 and 50 years who have worked for 6 to 288 months in their respective hotels in Thailand. The current study utilized a quantitative correlation design. Multiple Regression and MANOVA were employed to analyze the results. The results showed that the male respondents reported higher engagement of indirect aggression techniques of malicious humor, social exclusionary behavior, and guilt induction than their female counterparts, respectively. No significant gender differences for the factors of relational control, fear of negative evaluation, narcissistic personality, and self-esteem were found. Furthermore it was revealed that narcissistic personality has both direct and indirect influences on the use of indirect aggression. In terms of direct influence, it was revealed that the more narcissistic the participants’ personality, the more they would employ indirect aggressive techniques. With regard to indirect influence, the more narcissistic the participants’ personality, the higher their reported level of self-esteem and the less they would employ indirect aggressive techniques. The results also showed that for the participants, their fear of negative evaluation has an indirect influence on their use of indirect aggressive techniques such that the higher their fear of negative evaluation, the lower their reported level of self-esteem and the more they would use indirect aggressive techniques. The factor of relational control was not found to be significantly related to any of the indirect aggression criterion variables.