1
|
Broglia G, Nisticò V, Di Paolo B, Faggioli R, Bertani A, Gambini O, Demartini B. Traits of narcissistic vulnerability in adults with autism spectrum disorders without intellectual disabilities. Autism Res 2024; 17:138-147. [PMID: 37983956 DOI: 10.1002/aur.3065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 10/30/2023] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The relationship between Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), considering the dimensions of narcissistic grandiosity and vulnerability, represents an important differential diagnosis and potential ground of comorbidity, since both conditions show high grades of pervasiveness, a life-long course, ego-syntonic traits, and difficulties in building up and sustaining interpersonal relationships Although the co-diagnosis rates, according to the categorical criteria in use, are limited (0%-6.4%), it is common to encounter diagnostic doubts in clinical practice. Here we investigated the dimensions of narcissistic vulnerability and grandiosity in a sample of 87 adults diagnosed with ASD without intellectual disabilities through the administration of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory-52 Items (PNI-52). The mean scores of our sample were compared with the normative distribution available in the literature, and we found that individuals with ASD scored significantly higher than neurotypical controls at the Total Score and at the Vulnerable Narcissism subscale, but not at the Grandiose Narcissism subscales. Demographic features did not influence these results. Vulnerable narcissism was significantly associated with the "Ritvo Autism and Asperger Diagnostic Scale - Revised" subscale Social Relatedness. These findings could potentially be indicative of a greater comorbidity rate between the two disorders with respect to the one reported to date, possibly because DSM-5 criteria are mainly focused on the grandiose dimension. Potential explanatory links between ASD phenomenology and vulnerable narcissism, such as the personality dimension of neuroticism, are discussed, together with the possible role of narcissistic vulnerability in mediating internalizing symptoms (e.g., anxiety, depression) in individuals with ASD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Broglia
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Veronica Nisticò
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
- "Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università degli Studi di Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Bianca Di Paolo
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
| | - Raffaella Faggioli
- Unità di Psichiatria 52, Dipartimento Salute Mentale e Dipendenze, Presidio San Paolo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Angelo Bertani
- Centro Giovani "Ettore Ponti", Dipartimento Salute Mentale e Dipendenze, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Orsola Gambini
- Dipartimento di Scienze della Salute, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy
- "Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- Unità di Psichiatria 52, Dipartimento Salute Mentale e Dipendenze, Presidio San Paolo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| | - Benedetta Demartini
- "Aldo Ravelli" Research Center for Neurotechnology and Experimental Brain Therapeutics, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
- Unità di Psichiatria 52, Dipartimento Salute Mentale e Dipendenze, Presidio San Paolo, ASST Santi Paolo e Carlo, Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Guo F, Yang Z, Liu T, Gu L. The brain dynamics of trust decisions and outcome evaluation in narcissists. Front Psychol 2022; 13:929674. [PMID: 35992397 PMCID: PMC9389113 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.929674] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with narcissism are, by definition, self-centered, focus on self-benefit, and demonstrate less prosocial behaviors. Trusting strangers is risky, as it can result in exploitation and non-reciprocation. Thus, the trust may be antagonistic to narcissism. However, how narcissists make the choice to trust remains to be elucidated. The current study examined 44 participants (22 rated high in narcissism) playing as trustors in one-shot trust games, and their electroencephalograms were recorded. Individuals high in narcissism exhibited less trust toward strangers, especially following gaining feedback for their trust. In addition, narcissists exhibited a larger N2 following distrust and a stronger negatively-valanced difference in feedback-related negativity (dFRN) after trustee feedback. Our findings provide insights into how individuals with narcissism trust strangers. The results also shed light on the temporal course of brain activity involved in trust decision-making and outcome evaluation in individuals with narcissism.
Collapse
|
3
|
Lee RJ, Gozal D, Coccaro EF, Fanning J. Narcissistic and Borderline Personality Disorders: Relationship With Oxidative Stress. J Pers Disord 2020; 34:6-24. [PMID: 32186978 DOI: 10.1521/pedi.2020.34.supp.6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
The authors hypothesized that personality disorders characterized by interpersonal hypersensitivity would be associated with an elevated concentration of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-DG), the oxidized form of guanine, and a biomarker of oxidative stress burden. One hundred ninety-five male and female adults underwent semistructured diagnostic interviews, completed questionnaire measures of social cognition and emotional attribution, and had blood drawn for determination of plasma 8-OH-DG. A hierarchical linear regression model revealed that narcissistic and borderline personality disorders predicted 8-OH-DG level independently of the effects of age, gender, recent alcohol and cigarette use, current major depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. In all subjects, 8-OH-DG level was also correlated with the number of borderline personality disorder symptoms present. Narcissistic and borderline personality disorders predicted oxidative stress burden independently of potentially confounding factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Royce J Lee
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago
| | - David Gozal
- Department of Child Health, University of Missouri School of Medicine, Columbia, Missouri
| | - Emil F Coccaro
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago
| | - Jennifer Fanning
- Center for Depression, Anxiety, and Stress, Harvard Medical Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Somma A, Pincus AL, Fontana A, Cianfanelli B, Fossati A. Measurement Invariance of Three Versions of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory across Gender-Matched Italian Adolescent High School and Young Adult University Students. JOURNAL OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY AND BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENT 2019. [DOI: 10.1007/s10862-019-09758-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
|