-
Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) Oct 2022This review summarizes current knowledge about narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Each section brings the reader up to date on advances in our knowledge during the... (Review)
Review
This review summarizes current knowledge about narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Each section brings the reader up to date on advances in our knowledge during the last decade. In terms of NPD diagnosis, this review describes the addition of the dimensional model to the categorical model. The accumulating knowledge has led to the description of grandiose and vulnerable narcissism as well as their complex interrelationship. Strong support exists for co-occurrence of these presentations among people with high levels of grandiose narcissism. Studies have identified mechanisms, in domains such as self-esteem dysregulation, emotion dysregulation, cognitive style, interpersonal relations, and empathy, and possible developmental and temperamental antecedents of the disorder. Thus, it appears that NPD has a multifactorial etiology and pathogenesis, with numerous mechanisms associated with each area of dysfunction. Longitudinal studies support the view that these patients can improve, but such improvement is gradual and slow. Several treatments have been developed for the disorder, and a majority share commonalities, including clear goals, attention to treatment frame, attention to relationships and self-esteem, alliance building, and monitoring of countertransference.
PubMed: 37200887
DOI: 10.1176/appi.focus.20220052 -
The American Psychologist Jan 2022Debates about the benefits of self-esteem have persisted for decades, both in the scientific literature and in the popular press. Although many researchers and lay... (Review)
Review
Debates about the benefits of self-esteem have persisted for decades, both in the scientific literature and in the popular press. Although many researchers and lay people have argued that high self-esteem helps individuals adapt to and succeed in a variety of life domains, there is widespread skepticism about this claim. The present article takes a new look at the voluminous body of research (including several meta-analyses) examining the consequences of self-esteem for several important life domains: relationships, school, work, mental health, physical health, and antisocial behavior. Overall, the findings suggest that self-esteem is beneficial in all these domains, and that these benefits hold across age, gender, and race/ethnicity, and controlling for prior levels of the predicted outcomes and potential third variable confounds. The meta-analytic estimates of self-esteem effects (which average .10 across domains) are comparable in size to estimates for other hypothesized causal factors such as self-efficacy, positive emotionality, attachment security, and growth mindset, and larger than some generally accepted pharmaceutical interventions. Discussion focuses on several issues that are critical for evaluating the findings, including the strength of the evidence for making causal inferences, the magnitude of the effects, the importance of distinguishing between self-esteem and narcissism, and the generalizability of the results. In summary, the present findings support theoretical conceptions of self-esteem as an adaptive trait that has wide-ranging influences on healthy adjustment and adaptation, and suggest that interventions aimed at boosting self-esteem might, if properly designed and implemented, benefit individuals and society as a whole. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).
Topics: Health Status; Humans; Mental Health; Narcissism; Self Concept; Self Efficacy
PubMed: 35357851
DOI: 10.1037/amp0000922 -
Annals of General Psychiatry Jan 2022We all have narcissism, but in some cases, the perception of narcissism becomes extreme and pathological. Systematic research has shown that there are three subtypes... (Review)
Review
We all have narcissism, but in some cases, the perception of narcissism becomes extreme and pathological. Systematic research has shown that there are three subtypes typical of narcissistic personality disorder: the grandiose/oblivious, the vulnerable/hypervigilant, and the high-functioning subtype. Both biological and psychological factors are at work, but the true cause of pathological narcissism has not been established. The psychotherapy of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is complicated and often frustrating because of the difficulty in engaging a person with narcissistic personality disorder in a psychotherapeutic process. Suicide risk is not rare in patients with narcissism, particularly in the context of severe narcissistic injury, where the patient feels shamed and/or vilified. In conclusion, narcissistic patients are difficult to treat, but the risk of suicide makes it imperative for clinicians to stay involved in the treatment and assist the patient in understanding their vulnerabilities.
PubMed: 35065658
DOI: 10.1186/s12991-022-00380-8 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Aug 2022Narcissists are prone to conspicuous consumption, that is, preference for luxury over mundane products. We analyze four reasons for their conspicuous consumption:... (Review)
Review
Narcissists are prone to conspicuous consumption, that is, preference for luxury over mundane products. We analyze four reasons for their conspicuous consumption: positive distinctiveness (individuation and status), meaning in life, materialism, and sexual signaling. Empirical support for these reasons ranges from good to preliminary. We then discuss directions that this nascent literature could take. These include a consideration of different forms of narcissism (grandiose vs. vulnerable, agentic vs. communal, admirative vs. rivalrous), the value of experimentation in clarifying the causal flow from narcisissm to conspicuous consumption and also from conspicuous consumption to state narcissism, as well as the (mostly negative) consequences of conspicuous consumptions for narcisissm and society.
Topics: Humans; Narcissism
PubMed: 35339977
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2022.101322 -
Current Opinion in Psychology Feb 2024Misinformation poses a significant concern, promoting false beliefs and eroding trust in media. People differ in their susceptibility to believe and to share... (Review)
Review
Misinformation poses a significant concern, promoting false beliefs and eroding trust in media. People differ in their susceptibility to believe and to share misinformation. In this article, we reviewed recent research on relationships between personality traits and belief in and sharing of misinformation. Findings show that more extroverted and less conscientious and agreeable people tend to be more susceptible to believing in and sharing misinformation. Additionally, the Dark Triad personality traits of narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism tend to be positively associated with sharing of misinformation, and narcissism and psychopathy are associated with greater belief in misinformation. Understanding these individual differences can inform interventions to reduce the effects of misinformation.
Topics: Humans; Personality; Machiavellianism; Antisocial Personality Disorder; Narcissism; Disease Susceptibility
PubMed: 38065004
DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101752 -
Psychological Science Mar 2021Some leaders display high levels of narcissism. Does the link between narcissism levels and leadership exist in childhood? We conducted, to our knowledge, the first...
Some leaders display high levels of narcissism. Does the link between narcissism levels and leadership exist in childhood? We conducted, to our knowledge, the first study of the relationship between narcissism levels and various aspects of leadership in children ( = 332, ages 7-14 years). We assessed narcissism levels using the Childhood Narcissism Scale and assessed leadership emergence in classrooms using peer nominations. Children then performed a group task in which one child was randomly assigned as leader. We assessed perceived and actual leadership functioning. Children with higher narcissism levels more often emerged as leaders in classrooms. When given a leadership role in the task, children with higher narcissism levels perceived themselves as better leaders, but their actual leadership functioning did not differ significantly from that of other leaders. Specification-curve analyses corroborated these findings. Thus, children with relatively high narcissism levels tend to emerge as leaders, even though they may not excel as leaders.
Topics: Adolescent; Child; Humans; Leadership; Narcissism; Personality
PubMed: 33533309
DOI: 10.1177/0956797620965536 -
Psychiatria Danubina Sep 2021Thus, having become very famous in the cities of Aonia, the one (Tiresias) gave irrefutable responses to those who consulted him. The first to test the authenticity of...
Thus, having become very famous in the cities of Aonia, the one (Tiresias) gave irrefutable responses to those who consulted him. The first to test the authenticity of his words was the blue Lirìope, whom Cefiso had one day pushed into a bend in his current, imprisoned in the waves and raped. When she got pregnant, the beautiful nymph gave birth to a child who aroused love from birth, and called him Narcissus. Asked if the little boy would see the distant days of late old age, the soothsayer replied: "If he doesn't know himself." For a long time the prediction seemed meaningless, but then the outcome of things, the type of death and the strange passion confirmed it. from "The Metamorphosis" (Ovidio).
Topics: Child; Female; Humans; Love; Male; Narcissism
PubMed: 34559776
DOI: No ID Found -
Personality and Individual Differences Jul 2021Narcissism can manifest in a grandiose form - admiration-seeking, exhibitionism, and dominance - or a vulnerable form - anxiety, withdrawal, and hypersensitivity. While...
Narcissism can manifest in a grandiose form - admiration-seeking, exhibitionism, and dominance - or a vulnerable form - anxiety, withdrawal, and hypersensitivity. While grandiose narcissism is conceptually in line with an independent self-construal, as prevalent in Western countries, the vulnerable form can be assumed to relate more to an interdependent self-construal, as prevalent in Eastern countries. We studied both forms of narcissism in Germany and Japan (s = 258, 280), which differ fundamentally in their independent and interdependent self-construal, yet are similar regarding global developmental standards. We tested whether (1) mean differences in both narcissism forms would conform to the predominant self-construal, (2) self-construal would explain variance in narcissism beyond broad personality traits, and (3) there would be stronger mental health tradeoffs for culturally incongruent forms of narcissism. Our results largely confirm these expectations for vulnerable narcissism, which is (1) more prevalent in Japan than Germany, (2) related to self-construal beyond broad traits, and, (3) more strongly related to mental health problems in Germany than Japan. For grandiose narcissism, data analyses indicated that construct equivalence can only be assumed for the entitlement factor, and internal structure and nomological networks differ substantially between cultural contexts.
PubMed: 34285424
DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2021.110716 -
International Journal of Environmental... Sep 2021Agentic narcissism and vulnerable narcissism have been widely studied in relation to social media use. However, with research on communal narcissism in its early stages,...
Agentic narcissism and vulnerable narcissism have been widely studied in relation to social media use. However, with research on communal narcissism in its early stages, the current study examines communal narcissism in relation to social media use. Specifically, the current study investigates whether communal narcissism is related to use and frequency of use of the popular social networking sites Instagram, Reddit and Twitter, and if communal narcissism relates to the importance of receiving feedback and to the quality-rating of self-presented content on those platforms. A total of 334 individuals were recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk, with two-thirds being male (66.7%). A regression analysis showed that communal narcissism was related to increased use of Instagram and Twitter but not Reddit. Sharing content, the importance of feedback and better than average ratings had positive associations with communal narcissism. The relationship between communal narcissism and sharing on social media was fully mediated by wanting validation on social media and higher ratings of self-presented content. Communal narcissism had a notably strong relationship with wanting validation on all platforms and our results suggest that communal narcissism might be especially relevant in the context of social media use.
Topics: Humans; Male; Narcissism; Self Concept; Social Media; Social Networking
PubMed: 34639406
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph181910106 -
Trauma, Violence & Abuse Sep 2023This review aimed to examine the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and trait narcissism, and whether the strength of this relationship... (Review)
Review
This review aimed to examine the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and trait narcissism, and whether the strength of this relationship differs depending on narcissism type (grandiose or vulnerable), the type of violence perpetrated, or the perpetrator's gender. Scopus, Medline, PsycInfo, and Academic Search Complete databases were searched on August 11, 2022. Studies were included if they were in English, measured IPV perpetration and trait narcissism, and examined the relationship between trait narcissism and IPV perpetration. Studies were excluded if they were review papers, conference extracts, book chapters, or if the data was not specific to trait narcissism. The AXIS tool was used to assess the quality and risk of bias of the studies. Twenty-two studies ( = 11,520 participants) were included in the random effects meta-analysis revealing a significant, weak, positive relationship between trait narcissism and IPV perpetration, = .15. Subgroup analyses revealed physical IPV perpetration was not significantly related to trait narcissism while cyber and psychological IPV perpetration were significantly, positively, weakly related to trait narcissism. No significant difference in the strength of the relationship with IPV perpetration was found between males and females. The relationship between trait narcissism and IPV perpetration was significantly greater for vulnerable narcissism than grandiose narcissism. Overall, the quality of the included studies was high, and risk of bias was low. All measures were self-report and underreporting could be present given both narcissistic traits and IPV perpetration are considered socially undesirable. Future research examining these relationships should specify IPV and narcissism types.
PubMed: 37702183
DOI: 10.1177/15248380231196115