Narcissistic traits have grown increasingly common as the 1970s “Me Generation” led to a culture in which restaurants promised to let you “have it your way," premium products encouraged you that “you’re worth it,” and parents heaped praise and trophies on children just because they showed up, even if they didn’t participate. While Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is found in about 5% to 6% of the population (Stinson et al., 2008), narcissism of a lesser, but still harmful degree, seems to have reached epidemic proportions (Vater et al., 2018).

Researchers (Ross et al., 2024) note that experiencing adverse events during childhood can nurture the development of narcissistic traits in ways that begin to shape behavior as children mature into adults. Although there are two main types of narcissism, which are both marked by a strong sense of entitlement and too much pride, there are unique differences that separate the types:

While adverse childhood........

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