Narcissism Generally Declines With Age, But Those Who Were More Narcissistic As Children Usually Stay That Way In Adulthood, According To A Recent Study
For a long time, researchers have been curious about the personality style of narcissism and how it affects people who have it.
Now, new research has shown that narcissism tends to decrease as a person ages. In this latest study, researchers looked into how narcissism changes and develops throughout life.
Those who are narcissistic share the belief that they are better or more deserving than other people. They focus on themselves, often at the expense of others. They may lack the ability to understand or care about other people’s feelings.
The study involved 37,247 participants with an age range from eight to 77. The researchers examined data from 51 past studies. They also identified three types of narcissism: agentic, antagonistic, and neurotic.
Agentic narcissists think highly of themselves. They feel superior to others and want people to admire them. Antagonistic narcissists see others as competition. They lack empathy and can be very manipulative.
Finally, neurotic narcissists are insecure, prone to shame, and extremely sensitive to criticism.
Overall, the researchers found that narcissism generally declines with age. Agentic narcissists experienced a small decline, while antagonistic and neurotic narcissism showed a moderate decline.
However, individual narcissism levels remained stable over time. Those who were more narcissistic than their peers as children usually stayed that way in adulthood. This suggests that narcissism is a stable personality trait.
“Clearly, some individuals may change more strongly, but generally, you wouldn’t expect someone you knew as a very narcissistic person to have completely changed when you meet them again after some years,” said Ulrich Orth, the lead author of the study from the University of Bern in Switzerland.
primipil – stock.adobe.com – illustrative purposes only, not the actual person
Having some narcissistic traits can actually be beneficial in the short term. For example, they might boost your popularity, help you score a date, and increase your chances of landing a lucrative job. But narcissism comes with consequences and has more negative effects over the long term.
High levels of narcissism cause conflict, affecting not only the individuals themselves but also the people in their social circles, such as friends, family members, partners, children, and co-workers.
Most of the data in the study were from the United States, Canada, and Western Europe. One was from China, and another was from New Zealand.
According to Orth, future research on narcissism should be conducted across a wider range of countries and cultures.
Orth added that future work should also focus on figuring out exactly why narcissism decreases with age.
“One theory suggests that the social roles we take on in adulthood, for example, as a partner, a parent, an employee, and so on, lead to the development of more mature personality characteristics, including lower levels of narcissism,” he said.
The study was published by the American Psychological Association.
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