Narcissism may fade with age – but never completely, new study shows: ‘An enduring personality trait’

Humanity is chasing narcissists, but narcissists are faster.

According to psychological experts for BBC News, new findings about those with narcissistic personalities reveal that they develop greater compassion as they age – but they never fully shake off their inflated sense of self-importance.

“Obviously, some individuals can change more strongly, but in general, you wouldn’t expect someone you know as a highly narcissistic person to have completely changed when you meet them again in a few years,” Dr. Ulrich Orth, from the University of Bern in Switzerland, told the media.

Orth’s recent study of over 37,000 people showed that those who were most narcissistic in childhood typically remained so throughout adulthood, despite learning to compensate for their innate lack of empathy.

Narcissism is a very common personality component that refers to the quality of being too self-absorbed. Experts agree that everyone exhibits narcissistic traits at times, but those with larger egos may be diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). People with NPD operate on the fundamental belief that they are inherently superior to others—which can manifest overtly as arrogance, egotism, and grandiosity—and use manipulation and emotional exploitation to get the admiration they desire.

“These consequences not only affect the person themselves, but also the well-being of individuals with whom they interact, such as partners, children, friends, co-workers and employees,” explained Orth.

Published this month in the journal Psychological Bulletin, the survey of 51 previous studies involving participants aged eight to 77 aimed to understand whether wisdom and maturity had a positive impact on narcissists throughout life.

Researchers described three types of narcissists for the study: agents (superiority), antagonist (envy) and neurotic (shame).

Overall, narcissism scores declined as participants aged. However, despite the increase, those who were more narcissistic than average as children remained more than average as adults.

“This was true over very long periods of time, suggesting that narcissism is a stable personality trait,” Orth said in a separate statement to the American Psychological Association.

Understanding how narcissists mature is essential to identifying interventions to help mitigate their capacity for harm.

“These findings have important implications given that high levels of narcissism affect people’s lives in many ways,” Orth continued. “Both the lives of the narcissistic individuals themselves and, perhaps even more so, the lives of their families and friends.”