Accept what you cannot change: Narcissistic personality disorder is a complex and often chronic illness that a person may or may not be able to change or mitigate. Understand that you cannot force them to want to change their behavior.
They found a combination of factors, like an indulgent or permissive parenting styles, genetics, and early-in-life temperament, increased the likelihood of a child developing narcissism in their early twenties.
According to Thomaes & Brummelman, the development of narcissism begins at around the ages of 7 or 8. This is the time when children begin to evaluate themselves according to how they perceive others. Although narcissism comes partly down to genes, it is also impacted by the environment.
While an outward show of superiority is a definite part of the narcissistic personality, a sense of superiority (or pursuit of it) is not the central factor of the disorder. The root of the disorder is actually a strict resistance to feeling vulnerable with anyone at any time.
Summary: For most people, narcissism wanes as they age. A new study reports the magnitude of the decline of narcissistic traits is tied to specific career and personal relationship choices. However, this is not true for everyone.
NPD Is No One's Fault
Narcissism is not the fault of parents or the result of poor parenting. However, parents can make changes to their parenting behaviors and interactions to help their kids overcome narcissistic tendencies.
At the end of a relationship, narcissists may become combative, passive-aggressive, hostile, and even more controlling. People with NPD often fail to understand other people's needs and values. They are hyper focused on their egos, but do not account for how their actions affect others.
After reading the definition of narcissism, nearly every two-year-old will appear narcissistic. Most children, however, grow out of the behavior while it seems to linger for others.
On the one hand, some narcissists may genuinely care for and love their mothers. On the other hand, they may view their mothers as a source of support and comfort and feel a deep affection towards them. However, it is also true that many narcissists struggle to form close, loving relationships with others.
If you know someone narcissistic, you may wonder if this is a learned behavior or if genetics plays a role. The answer is that narcissism can be genetic and environmental. Additionally, society may play a significant role.
Answer and Explanation: While some personality disorders are hard-wired into a person's genetic makeup, research indicates that narcissism is a learned behavior. It is not something a person is born with. A child's family environment play a major role in helping them become a healthy, empathetic adult.
Grandiose sense of self-importance
Grandiosity is the defining characteristic of narcissism. More than just arrogance or vanity, grandiosity is an unrealistic sense of superiority. Narcissists believe they are unique or “special” and can only be understood by other special people.
But children who were extremely melodramatic, and who also had parents that ignored or neglected them, spoiled them constantly, or insisted on perfection, were more likely to become narcissists in adulthood.
Moreover, combinations of parenting styles may also be associated with the development of narcissism. Freud (1914/1957) proposed that parental overvaluation, together with a lack of warmth for the child's needs, is associated with higher traits of narcissism.
Narcissistic Personality Disorder Treatment
There is no cure, but therapy can help. The goal is to build up the person's poor self-esteem and have more realistic expectations of others. Treatment usually centers on talk therapy. Sometimes people call this psychotherapy.
Apologize. If you've heard someone say, “Narcissists never apologize,” they're not exactly right. While many traits of narcissism like entitlement, elitism, and arrogance make it unlikely someone with narcissistic traits will go the apology route, apologies are sometimes used with ulterior motives.
It is important to note that overall narcissism scores generally declined from age 18 to age 41. So, when a life experience is associated with higher levels of a facet of narcissism at age 41, it means that having this life experience led this facet of narcissism to decline less than expected.
According to Julie L. Hall, author of “The Narcissist in Your Life: Recognizing the Patterns and Learning to Break Free,” narcissists become more extreme versions of their worst selves as they age, which includes becoming more desperate, deluded, paranoid, angry, abusive, and isolated.