You hear a lot of people being called narcissists these days. The word just seems to come up a lot more than it used to, Rebecca Webber writes in a thoughtful and timely cover story in Psychology Today.
But is narcissism really more prevalent than before? Psychologists' consensus, she says, is no. The condition called narcissistic personality disorder, or NPD, affects only about 1 percent of the population, a figure that has remained about the same since the term was established in 1968.
"Most (but not all) putative narcissists today are innocent victims of an overused label," she writes.
And that's a problem, she writes, because these are people whose social dysfunction and unstable sense of self-identity could be treated if it were identified.
For example, some true narcissists are obsessed with helping other people -- kind of self-aggrandizement through martyrdom. Other narcissists might have so damaged a sense of self that they cannot handle criticism and become introverted.
When faced with a setback such as job loss or divorce, the true narcissist -- rather than being buoyed by a strong ego -- is often devastated by fear of being weak and vulnerable. This can lead to profound melancholy or defensive rage.
Are narcissists made or born? Both, Webber's experts say. Narcissism begins in the genes but it is developed -- or controlled -- by influences including parenting styles and formative relationships.
And what about those supposedly narcissistic millennials? Not true. People are always more narcissistic when they're young.
Family on 10/12/2016