TITLE:
What Is Narcissistic Personality Disorder? Lay Theories of Narcissism
AUTHORS:
Kirstie Wright, Adrian Furnham
KEYWORDS:
Narcissism, Mental Health Literacy, Aetiology, Treatment
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.9,
July
30,
2014
ABSTRACT: There are
various studies on mental health literacy which examine lay people’s knowledge
and understanding of various mental disorders. Many are interested in beliefs
about cause, manifestation and cure as well as the relationship between those
beliefs. This study examines lay beliefs regarding the manifestations,
aetiology and treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), and their
determinants using a questionnaire divided into three parts. Participants (N = 201)
answered 45 attitudinal statements designed for this study regarding NPD. They
consisted of 18 manifestation items, 15 aetiology items and 12 treatment items
referring to NPD. They also completed the Narcissistic Personality Inventory.
Each section of the questionnaire was factor analysed to determine the
structure of those beliefs. Factors derived from a principle component analysis
of lay beliefs demonstrate poor knowledge of NPD. Factors derived from the
manifestations, aetiology and treatment section were modestly and coherently
correlated. No demographic factors correlated with all aspects of mental health
literacy and lay theories. People are surprisingly misinformed about NPD. They
believed that narcissists manifested superficiality and social problems,
business abilities and fragility. No distinction was made between biological
and psychological causes or genetics and early negative events. Inability to
identify NPD may account for many reports of sub-clinical narcissism being
associated with leadership derailment.