A comprehensive review of studies on narcissism found that people with this personality trait tend to become less narcissistic as they age. The study, conducted by Ulrich Orth and colleagues and published by the American Psychological Association, analyzed data from 51 samples involving more than 37,000 participants.
The study looked at three types of narcissism: agentic (characterized by a need for admiration), antagonistic (involving exploitative behaviors), and neurotic (marked by emotional instability). All three types showed declines from childhood through old age, though the changes were small to moderate in size.
From ages 8 to 77, agentic narcissism decreased by about a quarter of a standard deviation, while antagonistic narcissism dropped by just over a third. Neurotic narcissism showed the largest decline at about half a standard deviation.
Despite these overall decreases, the researchers found that individual differences in narcissism remain fairly stable over time. This was especially true for agentic and antagonistic types, suggesting that people who are more narcissistic than their peers at one age tend to maintain that relative position later in life.
It’s worth noting that the study found no significant differences in these patterns between men and women or across different birth cohorts. This suggests that the tendency for narcissism to decline with age is a general trend not limited to any group or generation.
The researchers said that while their findings show a consistent pattern of decline, the changes are modest. They emphasized that narcissism should still be considered a relatively stable personality trait across lifespan.
Future research should also aim to explore the reasons why narcissism declines with age, according to lead author Ulrich Orth, PhD, of the University of Bern in Switzerland. “One theory suggests that the social roles we take on in adulthood, for example as a partner, a parent, an employee and so on, lead to the development of more mature personality characteristics, including lower levels of narcissism,” he said.
