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Thursday, 28 May 2015

A new study investigating the causes of narcissism in children is looking for 300 volunteers aged between eight and 16, and their parents, to take part in a survey.

PhD student Kate Derry, from The University of Western Australia’s School of Psychology, said her research would explore narcissism as a personality trait.

“Narcissism is actually something that most people possess in normal populations to some extent,” Ms Derry said.

“I’ll look at how narcissism manifests in children, how it differs from self-esteem, whether it is related to positive or problematic functioning and development and what kind of environmental influences, such as parenting and praise, are related to different expressions of the trait.

“I want to use my research to try and understand the nature of narcissism, this grandiose sense of self, in children and identify the contributing factors.

“Focusing on self has become increasingly entrenched in Western culture. Social media puts it on display by allowing people to post a pin-up board of ‘selfies’ or to exchange their thoughts for ‘likes’. Reality television brings us the dream of overnight stardom.

“It could be that having a high or inflated confidence during childhood works differently than in adults because kids are routinely confronted with failure and struggle during this time of development as they work hard to master new skills and develop a sense of who they are. Children need to develop resilience during this difficult period.

“However, a great source of unhappiness for people with a strong sense of entitlement is unmet expectations. If you’ve grown up believing that you’re exceptional, the idea of starting at the bottom when you go into the workforce, for example, may be extremely disconcerting.”

Ms Derry said the online study could be done from home and would take five to 10 minutes for parents to complete and 10 to 15 minutes for children, depending on their reading speed.

“Parents can access their survey at www.tinyurl.com/SSBParents and once they have consented, will be sent the URL for the child survey,” she said. “Parents can also win one of 20 $50 Coles/Myers vouchers for their time.

“My hope is that by looking at these factors, we’ll be able to understand how narcissism and entitlement work during childhood so that we can provide information to parents that will empower them to make the right choices for a happy and fulfilling life for their children.”

Media references

Kate Derry (UWA School of Psychology)                                            (+61 4) 11 811 212
David Stacey (UWA Media and Public Relations Manager)    (+61 8) 6488 3229 / (+61 4) 32 637 716

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