Narcissistic people tend to become more agreeable, generous and empathetic as they age, from childhood to adulthood, new research into this particular personality trait reveals. Narcissism is often associated with a person having a sense of superiority and entitlement over others.
The study published by the American Psychological Association notes, however, that the difference between individuals remains stable over time. This means that people who were more narcissistic than their peers as children tend to remain that way as adults.
Methodology
To reach this conclusion, the researchers compiled data from 51 studies (some conducted over decades) that looked at how an individual’s levels of narcissism changed over time. The study involved 37,247 participants ranging in age from eight to 77.
The researchers looked for three types of narcissists: agentic narcissists (feelings of grandiosity), antagonistic narcissists (arrogance, entitlement), and neurotic narcissists (emotional dysregulation, hypersensitivity).
They studied participants of all three types, based on questionnaires, and found that, in general, narcissism scores decreased with age.
“These findings have important implications given that high levels of narcissism influence people’s lives in many ways, both in the lives of the narcissistic individuals themselves and, perhaps even more so, in the lives of their families and friends,” lead author Ulrich Orth of the University of Bern in Switzerland told the Journal. Psychological Bulletin.
The changes among the aforementioned types were slight and gradual. While there was the odd individual who showed the change most strongly, the researchers stated that one would not expect “someone who is known to be a very narcissistic person to have changed completely.”
Signs You’re Near a Narcissist, According to Experts:
- They crave drama all the time. Chaos and conflict are their daily bread.
- Half-hearted apologies that mean nothing. Most narcissists do not take responsibility for their misbehaviors, which makes the other person feel bad about themselves.
- In reality, they transfer the blame to the other person through manipulation.
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Explaining the scope of the expanded research, experts said that most of the data analyzed in the study came from the United States and Western Europe. Therefore, future research could examine narcissism in a broader range of countries and cultures to better fit the idea that narcissism declines with age, although not to a great extent.
(With contributions from agencies)
