Narcissism Is Important Risk Factor For Aggression And Violence, Researchers Say

Personality News: A comprehensive review of 437 studies from around the world revealed that individuals with high levels of narcissism are prone to aggressive and violent behaviour, especially when they are provoked.

“The link we found between narcissism and aggression was significant — it was not trivial in size. The findings have important real-world implications,” said Sophie Kjaervik, first author of the study.

Results were similar regardless of gender, age, whether they were college students or country of residence.

Ohio State University’s researchers examined data from 437 independent studies with a total of 123,043 participants. They found that Narcissism was related to all forms of aggression measured in these studies, including physical, verbal, bullying, direct or indirect, and displaced onto innocent targets. Also, narcissism was linked to online cyberbullying, as well as bullying offline, highlighting the impact of the digital world.

People with high levels of narcissism are not choosy when it comes to attacking others. They become highly aggressive whether they are provoked or not. But, the risk of aggression was significantly higher when provoked. Those high in narcissism have thin skins and can go out of control if they feel ignored or disrespected.

Other than extreme anger, they are also likely to be cold, deliberate and proactive in their aggression. Researchers observed that the link between narcissism and violence was nearly as strong as its link with less serious forms of aggression.

To Know More, You May Refer To

Ohio State University. (2021, May 25). Narcissism linked to aggression in review of 437 studies: Study found relationship ‘across the board’ all over the world. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 8, 2021 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/05/210525084324.htm