The use of fantasy as a defense mechanism: Comparing narcissistic and schizoid phenomena

Withdrawal into fantasy can be a way to avoid conflicts and difficulties in real life and, as such, can represent a defense mechanism, which is traditionally traced back to schizoid/autistic phenomena. At the same time, fantasies of power, success, and ideal love are included among the criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder and represent a central feature of narcissistic pathology when assessed dimensionally. Clinically, grandiose fantasies are believed to compensate for deeper feelings of inadequacy and vulnerability, indicating that they may as well serve defensive purposes. To date, similarities and differences between autistic/schizoid and grandiose fantasies fall short of theoretical coordinates and have not been investigated empirically, nor has the relative role of schizoid and narcissistic traits been addressed in these defenses. The present contribution offers a theoretical discussion on the topic, investigating the role of fantasy in relation to both narcissistic and schizoid functioning. Preliminary empirical data from a nonclinical sample will be also used to investigate the link between maladaptive personality traits and different measures of fantasy. The assessment of fantasy in daily life with an intensive longitudinal design will allow detecting both trait-level and state-level dynamic processes. A specific focus will be on the relative contribution of narcissistic (both grandiose and vulnerable) and schizoid traits in the prediction of fantasy, and on the possibility to empirically discriminate between autistic/schizoid fantasy and fantasies with an explicitly grandiose content. Clinical and research implications will be discussed.