The research article selected to support the argument that there is a narcissism epidemic among contemporary young adults titled “You’re Still So Vain: Changes in Narcissism from Young Adulthood to Middle Age” is written by Wetzel et al. The article provides insights into the long-term trends in narcissism among contemporary young adults but also suggests that narcissism tends to decrease from “young adulthood” to “middle age” (Wetzel et al., 2020). The study examines three facets of narcissism including “leadership”, “vanity”, and “entitlement” correlating them with supervisory positions in middle age and relationship outcomes. The article argues that young adulthood is the age when people tend to have a narcissism epidemic in their behaviour, but they tend to become less narcissistic as they age due to their family relations and career pathways.
However, the article selected to refute the argument is titled “The Narcissism Epidemic is Dead; Long Live the Narcissism Epidemic”, which challenges the notion of a “narcissism epidemic” among contemporary young adults. The authors suggest that the aspects of narcissism have declined with time, and there is no evidence that young adults have become increasingly “self-absorbed” in themselves (Wetzel et al., 2017). The research examines “measurement equivalence across cohorts” which has been overlooked in the previous studies contradicting the idea that recent young adults or “college students’ cohort” are “more narcissistic” than earlier generations. In the study, several items in the NPI (Narcissistic Personality Inventory) are found to be non-equivalent across college cohorts.
In my view, the narcissism epidemic exists among young adults because they become increasingly self-absorbed in their lives. Still, it eventually fades with time as these traits can be adaptive or maladaptive, depending on the varied contexts. I think that it happens because of the childhood environment and leniency in parental discipline, which often leads to unrealistic self-views and a desire for admiration in young adults. While some self-focus is normal, excessive narcissistic behaviour can lead to mental health challenges.
References
Wetzel, E., Brown, A., Hill, P. L., Chung, J. M., Robins, R. W., & Roberts, B. W. (2017). The Narcissism Epidemic Is Dead; Long Live the Narcissism Epidemic. Psychological Science, 28(12), 1833–1847. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797617724208
Wetzel, E., Grijalva, E., Robins, R. W., & Roberts, B. W. (2020). You’re still so vain: Changes in narcissism from young adulthood to middle age. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 119(2), 479.
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