Narcissistic? If you are, you're statistically more likely to be a man.
In a new study, researchers asked: are men more narcissistic than women? All signs pointed to yes.
This analysis of 355 published studies involved half a million participants and spanned more than 30 years of data. Ultimately, it found that men scored higher than women on the narcissism scale, regardless of age or generation.
Specifically, men were more likely than women to feel entitled and exploit others for their own gain, according to this study, published March 4 in the journal Psychological Bulletin.
Lead study author Emily Grijalva, PhD, and her team at the University at Buffalo School of Management in New York also found that men more commonly showed signs of leadership and authority.
“Compared with women, men exhibit more assertiveness and desire for power,” Dr. Grijalva said in a press release.
But, she said, that's not always a bad thing.
Besides potential dysfunctions like the inability to maintain healthy long-term relationships and unethical behavior, "narcissism is shown to boost self-esteem, emotional stability and the tendency to emerge as a leader," Dr. Grijalva said.
The only category where women went toe-to-toe with men was vanity.
"There was no difference in the exhibitionism aspect, meaning both genders are equally likely to display vanity or self-absorption,” Dr. Grijalva said.
Eager to see how you measure up? The narcissism categories — leadership/authority, grandiose/exhibitionism and entitlement — come from the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, which you can find online.
