I have trouble accepting the idea that this particular study says much about true narcissists. They seem to be taking a small study group, and labelling anyone with very high self-esteem and/or self-confidence as a narcissist. IME, the description of narcissism in the article is vastly over-simplified and applies to many people who aren't true narcissists...and doesn't apply to some people who are. I know one woman whom I suspect of true narcissism. She doesn't come across as particularly arrogant, condescending, etc. - but everything - and I mean everything - is about her. In three separate situations that I know of, someone close to her lost a loved one. The loved ones in question were all people she knew, but there's no question that the person close to her was closer (I'm talking about loved ones who lost a mother, a sibling and a child). In all three circumstances, she talked about her bad luck, how these things are always happening "to her", and went on endlessly about needing support. And, you know...I can see needing support in those situations. It's hard to watch a loved one go through such things. But, when the person in question is asking for support, and complaining about how hard it is on her, to the very people who lost their loved ones, it's a sign of something very wrong. This woman isn't arrogant. She's not condescedning. She doesn't come across as highly self-assured. She's not financially successful, etc. She's simply incapable of understanding that some things aren't about her. It doesn't compute.
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The study is interesting. I just have my doubts about how much it says about true narcissism.
