You’re so vain.
You probably think this article is about you. And it might be.
A new study conducted by researchers at U. Michigan and U. Virginia suggests narcissism might be especially detrimental to men’s mental and physiological health, more so than for women.
“Prior work shows that narcissism is associated with relationship problems, but seemed to have no negative consequences for narcissists,” said study co-author Sara Konrath, an assistant research professor at U. Michigan’s Institute for Social Research.
Studies showed people with narcissism might have trouble maintaining trusting relationships, but they appear mentally healthy on a number of other self-report measures, according to Konrath.
“They score lower in depression and anxiety,” she said, “and higher in happiness and self-esteem, compared to people who are less narcissistic.”
However, Konrath’s study examined what is going on “under a man’s skin.”
“Narcissists actually have more stress hormones floating around in their veins,” she said, “which has implications for their long-term health if this physiological state of ‘high alert’ goes unacknowledged.”
So, men’s health is more at risk.
These implications pertain to cardiovascular wellness because the stress hormone cortisol can lead to high blood pressure and heart problems, especially in narcissistic males, Konrath said.
The researchers tested 106 undergraduate students, 79 females and 27 males, to determine whether a person had an “unhealthy” or “healthy” narcissism score.
Participants first provided a saliva sample to measure the level of basal cortisol in their bodies. Basal cortisol concentrations measure peoples’ stress while they are in a resting, or non-stressed state, according to Konrath.
After two assessments, the basal cortisol revealed how overactivated people’s physiological stress systems were, even when in a non-stressful environment.
Some studies examine how cortisol levels are affected by stressors, but the researchers were only testing cortisol at its baseline, Konrath said.
She said there isn’t a determining factor for “abnormal” cortisol, but higher baseline scores seem more detrimental if they are maintained for a long period of time. High levels of cortisol are linked to negative health outcomes, such as poor cardiovascular health.
The participants took a 40-question narcissism personality test with responses such as, “If I ruled the world it would be a better place,” and “The thought of ruling the world frightens the hell out of me.”
The total number of narcissistic responses were summed together, with higher scores indicating higher levels of narcissism. The study also examined whether specific narcissism traits were related to cortisol.
An unhealthy narcissism score was created by adding up the entitlement and exploitative subscales of the test. A healthy narcissism score was created by summing the leadership/authority, self-sufficiency, superiority, and vanity traits.
Konrath said that in her understanding of the terms “healthy” and “unhealthy” narcissism, the main distinction is how people see themselves versus how they treat others. The “unhealthy” narcissism can more easily cause harm to others than the “healthy” type, she said.
Narcissistic personality traits are also capable of being diagnosed as a personality disorder, according to MayoClinic.com.
“Narcissistic personality disorder is a mental disorder in which people have an inflated sense of their own importance and a deep need for admiration,” the website says.
Kay Konz, a mental health therapist at Lincoln Behavioral Health Clinic, said personality disorders are difficult to diagnose without a comprehensive clinical interview and history based on a pattern of behavior over time. She said the researchers did not identify participants as having a narcissistic personality disorder during the study.
“A 40-item tool measuring narcissistic traits does not diagnose narcissistic personality disorder,” Konz said.
Konz said a 40-item scale measuring six different traits has obvious limitations, including using only a few questions to identify a trait. She said there was no information provided about the validity of the measure and also no control group.
“Maybe all men who have ‘unhealthy’ personality traits like aggressiveness, suspiciousness, etc., have higher cortisol levels,” she said.
While the small sample size of men compared to women did not show any sex differences, it may have been biased by coincidence, according to Konz. She said that this could have happened because it was a small sample, or may have been due to selection bias – the nature of women who agreed to participate in the study as compared to men.
Konz said people with narcissistic personality disorder are not as likely to seek therapy or stay with it, as they don’t see themselves as the problem.
“Narcissistic personality disorder is very hard to treat,” she said. “Narcissistic traits may not be.”
Konrath said there are a number of ways narcissistic males can help alleviate potential risks to their health.
“First, they can try to work on having a more realistic sense of their self-worth, but this would likely be difficult for them,” she said.
They should also work on their connections with others, she said. Social relationships are associated with a number of health benefits, and narcissists generally have low-quality relationships because they don’t value others and they aren’t afraid to make that obvious.
Konrath lastly recommended narcissistic males deal with the physiological overreactivity by finding ways to reduce stress levels.
“They may want to go to the gym more,” she said, “try out a low-key activity such as yoga or tai chi, or try a variety of mental strategies to cope with stress.”
One factor the researchers didn’t collect was sexual orientation, Konrath said. The difference in narcissism levels between heterosexuals and homosexuals would be an interesting question for future research, she added.
Konrath said future research will look into why women don’t respond physiologically to narcissism as men do.