Narcissism has its plus points, according to study

Grandiose narcissists may not be the nicest people, but they are mentally tough, less stressed, and less prone to depression.

That is according to new research led by Queen’s University Belfast, which found that there may be some positives to a deeply narcissistic personality, in terms of potential societal impact.

Director of the InteRRaCt Lab in the School of Psychology at Queen’s, Kostas Papageorgiou, has published two papers on narcissism and psychopathology in Personality and Individual Differences and European Psychiatry.

The papers include three independent studies, each involving more than 700 adults, and highlight some positives of narcissism, such as resilience against symptoms of psychopathology.

A key finding was that grandiose narcissism can increase mental toughness and this can offset symptoms of depression.

It also found that people who score high on grandiose narcissism have lower levels of perceived stress and are therefore less likely to view their life as stressful.

Dr Papageorgiou said that while narcissism may be viewed by many people as a negative personality trait, it could also have benefits.

“While, of course, not all dimensions of narcissism are good, certain aspects can lead to positive outcomes,” he said.

This work promotes diversity and inclusiveness of people and ideas by advocating that dark traits, such as narcissism, should not be seen as either good or bad, but as products of evolution and expressions of human nature that may be beneficial or harmful, depending on the context.

Dr Papageorgiou said the research may prevent the marginalisation of individuals that score higher than average on the dark traits.