Researchers at The Ohio State University analyzed 437 studies and found that narcissism is associated with both aggression and violence.
The study, published Monday in the journal Psychological Bulletin, explained that narcissism is one of the important risk factors for aggressive and violent behavior, irrespective of age, sex, whether they are college students, or country of residence, according to Science Daily.
The researchers also found that any degree of narcissism is enough to be linked to aggression, meaning it does not have to be at levels so high as to be pathological, even mild narcissism is associated with aggression and violence.
Dr. Brad Bushman, the co-author of the study, said, “It is a pretty straightforward message: Narcissism is a significant risk factor for aggressive and violent behavior across the board.”
Sophie Kjaervik, the lead author of the study, said, “The link we found between narcissism and aggression was significant – it was not trivial in size. The findings have important real-world implications.”
“Narcissism is characterized by an overblown sense of self-importance,” Dr. Bushman explained. One of the key components of narcissism is entitlement.
It also has two other peripheral components – grandiose (those with high self-esteem) and vulnerable (those with low self-esteem). And the study found all of these components were associated with aggression.
Kjaervik explained, “Individuals who are high in narcissism are not particularly picky when it comes to how they attack others.”
The study findings showed that narcissism was associated with online cyberbullying and offline bullying. “That’s a highly important finding now that we live in an online world,” she noted.
Dr. Bushman said people with high levels of narcissism were more likely to lash out in anger. He said they also were more likely to be “cold, deliberate and proactive” in their aggression.
Furthermore, those with high levels of narcissism were more likely to be aggressive whether they were provoked or not, according to the study. However, the “risk for aggression was significantly higher when they felt provoked, such as being ignored or insulted,” the study noted.
The study also noted that narcissism might be one of the potential risk factors for extremely violent behavior, such as mass shootings, Dr. Bushman said.
He explained, “All of us are prone to being more aggressive when we are more narcissistic.”
“Our results suggest provocation is a key moderator of the link between narcissism and aggression,” he added. “Those who are high in narcissism have thin skins, and they will lash out if they feel ignored or disrespected.” The article was published in Science Daily.
