OBJECTIVE Diathesis-stress models of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) hypothesize that exposure to trauma may interact with individual differences in the development of PTSD. Previous studies have not assessed immediate responses to a proximate stressor, but the current "natural laboratory" study was designed to empirically test the role that individual differences in pathological narcissis...

This study provides convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity data for a new measure of narcissistic personality traits created from the perspective of the Five-factor model (FFM) of general personality structure. Fifteen scales were constructed as maladaptive variants of respective facets of the FFM (e.g., Reactive Anger as a narcissistic variant of angry hostility), with item selecti...

This thesis reviews both psychological and neural research in the fields of self-evaluation, self-views and self-enhancement bias. The research has made associations to grandiosity and need for admiration, which are two of the defining characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder. Neural correlates associated with this research are the medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, pos...

This study builds on previous work investigating reactions to people with pathological personality traits based on thin slices of behavior (Oltmanns, Friedman, Fiedler, & Turkheimer, 2004). Verbal and nonverbal aspects of the signal were separated and examined in a new sample of 150 target individuals (military recruits). Ratings were made after viewing or listening to a 30 s excerpt from an in...

The construct of narcissism is inconsistently defined across clinical theory, social-personality psychology, and psychiatric diagnosis. Two problems were identified that impede integration of research and clinical findings regarding narcissistic personality pathology: (a) ambiguity regarding the assessment of pathological narcissism vs. normal narcissism and (b) insufficient scope of existing n...

One of the most important contributions made by Dreger’s article is her description of the extraordinary lengths to which some of Bailey’s male-to-female (MtF) transsexual opponents went in their attempts to discredit him, his book, and his ideas. By Dreger’s account, their campaign against Bailey continued for at least two years after the publication of The Man Who Would Be Queen (TMWWBQ; Bail...

Background: Adaptive narcissism is the presence of narcissistic personality traits in otherwise normal individuals. Considering potential effects on medical profession. Objectives: The aim present study was to investigate prevalence adaptive and its demographic correlations among a student population using self-assessment tools. Methods: Participants were selected through cluster sampling stude...

Growing evidence supporting the effectiveness of Collaborative/Therapeutic Assessment (C/TA) has led clinicians and researchers to apply C/TA to a variety of clinical populations and treatment settings. This case example presents a C/TA inpatient adaptation illustrated with narcissistic personality disorder. After a brief overview of salient concepts, I provide a detailed account of the clinica...