Introduction
Narcissism is a personality disorder that is marked by traits such as a sense of superiority, excessive admiration, lack of empathy, grandiose fantasizing,  and extreme self-love [3]. Similar to other personality disorders, the underlying etiology of narcissistic personality disorder is not clear. Theorists have reported the important role of parents, family life, and parenting styles. Parenting styles have been extensively investigated for several decades to understand the underlying cause of narcissism [6]. One of the parenting styles is known as “overparenting” or “helicopter parenting” which is an important factor in the interaction between parents and their children [10]. Overparenting is characterized by high affection and support, high parental control, and low autonomy granting [12]. This can develop anxiety-avoidant behaviors and can be a predictor of children who develop too much trust in others for a sense of self-worth, a pattern very similar to vulnerable narcissism [7]. On the other hand, parents with this parenting style, by being permissive and with excessive indulgence can create a sense of  self-importance in children and contribute to their destructive communication patterns in interpersonal relationships. This, in turn, may be associated with the development of N traits [29، 30]. This research aims to investigate the mediating role of satisfaction and failure of basic psychological needs in the relationship between overparenting and narcissism in college students.

Methods
This is a descriptive-correlational study using structural equation modeling (SEM). The study population comprises all master degree students of the University of Tehran from 2021-2022 (n=1000), of whom 278 were selected using a convenience sampling method and based on the inclusion criteria. The sample size was determined 278 using Morgan’s table. The inclusion criteria were study at a master’s degree, age 25-40. Additionally, consent to participate in the study, the ability to use a computer or mobile phone with an active Internet connection, and use of at least one social media. We used three instruments, the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction Scale (BPNSS) developed by Guardian, Desi and Ryan [23] with 21 items, the Helicopter Parenting Scale of LeMoyne and Buchanan [35] with 10 items, and the narcissistic personality inventory-16 (NPI-16) of Ames et al. [37] with 16 items.
The online Persian versions of these questionnaires were prepared on the Porsline website. The collected data were analyzed in SPSS and Amos applications using Pearson’s correlation test and SEM.

Results
The results of Pearson correlation test are presented in Table 1. Based on the findings, it can be said that all study variables had a statistically significant relationship with one other (P<0.05). Overparenting and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs had statistically significant association with narcissism (P<0.05). We found a negative correlation between the satisfaction with basic psychological needs and narcissism, suggesting that a high basic psychological need satisfaction can lead to reduced narcissistic behaviors in students. There was a positive correlation (r=0.32) between overparenting and the narcissism, while the correlation between the satisfaction with basic psychological needs and the narcissism was negative (r= -0.34). Furthermore, a significant negative association was observed between all three BPNSS components of need for autonomy, need for competence, and relatedness and the two variables of overparenting and narcissism (P<0.05).



The SEM model is illustrated in Figure 1. As can be seen, the highest association was seen between overparenting and narcissism (with a coefficient of 0.36) and between overparenting and satisfaction with basic psychological needs (with a coefficient of -0.31).




Conclusion
Overparenting can affect the satisfaction with basic psychological needs in college students. According to this result, family relationships and supportive family environments can facilitate the development of autonomy, relatedness, and competence. Although parents believe that excessive involvement in their children’s activities and planning their daily schedule has a positive effect on the children’s happiness, health, and success, it has few positive outcomes for children and will not let them to meet their important need for independence [19], which can cause them to seek approval and attention from others constantly, resulting in a vulnerable self-esteem and an anxious-avoidant pattern. This can develop narcissism. The model proposed in this study asserts that the overparenting style, by affecting the psychological needs of students, causes the development of narcissism in them.

Ethical Considerations

Compliance with ethical guidelines
This study has ethical approval from the ethics committee of Shahid Beheshti University (Code: IR.SBU.REC.1401.113)

Funding
This article was extracted from the thesis of Elham Khursheedalab, registered by the Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Khatam University. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Authors contributions
Conceptualization, methodology, validation, Editing & review, and supervision: Mandana Niknam; Investigation: Elham Khourshidtalab.

Conflicts of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the University of Tehran and the students who participated in this study for their cooperation.