Narcissistic personality disorder - Research Paper Example

Diagnosis There are no laboratory tests or medical examinations that can be undergone to determine if someone has narcissistic personality disorder. As such, narcissistic personality disorder is often diagnosed through the means of observing an individual displaying signs or symptoms, or else a psychological evaluation involving questionnaires and responding to certain scenarios during which signs of narcissism can be observed. Since many signs and symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder can be found in other personality disorders, it is not uncommon that someone is diagnosed with multiple disorders, or even misdiagnosed if there is not enough evidence to prove a specific disorder.

In the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health, the American Psychiatric Association has provided a list of criteria that must be met for a person to be properly diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder. . praised based on looks or talents by adults; severe emotional abuse as a child; an imbalance of excessive praise and excessive criticism; and overindulgence by the parents (Groopman and Cooper, 2006). When these behaviors are continued throughout the childhood of the individual and a failure on the behalf of the child causes a cease in the praise and admiration, narcissistic personality disorder can be exposed as they become an adult.

Narcissistic personality disorder is a very rare personality disorder and is more common in adult males. As aforementioned, the cause of narcissistic personality disorder is unknown, but researchers have still compiled some risk factors that might play a role in an individual developing narcissistic personality disorder as they become older. A massive lack of praise during childhood or neglect or abuse during a young age are among the more common risk factors. As can be seen in the causes and risk factors, narcissistic personality disorder usually begins while the individual is a child, but does not make itself known until they reach adulthood.

Symptoms The greatest symptom of narcissistic personality disorder is overdramatic and overemotional behavior. “People with this disorder require attention and admiration and have difficulty accepting personal criticism (Sue et al, 2010)”. Some of the other more common symptoms connected with narcissistic personality disorder involve the individual believing that they are better than anyone else, thus acting accordingly and expecting an excess of admiration and praise from others. Suffers of narcissistic personality disorder over-exaggerate their accomplishments and their talents in an attempt to receive praise from others, though feeling jealous if they observe someone else being more