Social anxiety is commonly associated with shyness, silence, and a tendency to withdraw from social interactions. However, new research suggests that for some adolescents, this condition manifests through aggression and impulsivity rather than avoidance. This “atypical” presentation appears linked to specific narcissistic traits. The study was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

“There is a prevailing assumption in the popular and professional literature that social anxiety is characterized solely by avoidance of tendencies and behavioral inhibition (i.e., shyness). This is likely a consequence from its formal classification of social phobia, which inadvertently shaped the way we study and understand the clinical phenomena,” explained study author Mollie J. Eriksson, a PhD Candidate in Louis Schmidt’s Child Emotion Lab at McMaster University.

“Nonetheless, this prototypical inhibited presentation does not reflect the lived experience of many individuals with social anxiety symptoms (for a comprehensive review see Kashdan & McKnight). And so, in the current study we aimed to examine the externalizing correlates of social anxiety that are less studied and correspondingly less understood, particularly in a population (i.e., adolescents) in which these dynamics might be especially conspicuous.”

The research team recruited 298 adolescents for the study. The participants ranged in age from 12 to 17 years old. The sample was nearly evenly split between boys and girls. Data was collected through a series of online self-report questionnaires.

Participants answered detailed questions regarding their feelings of social anxiety and their levels of narcissism. The narcissism measure distinguished between vulnerable and grandiose traits. Additional surveys assessed impulsivity and general aggression.

The researchers used a statistical method known as Latent Profile Analysis to group the participants. This technique identifies distinct categories of people based on patterns in their responses. “This is a very robust statistical technique because it uncovers patterns in the data that reflect individual variation in people and not simply associations between data points,” Eriksson said.

The analysis revealed three distinct profiles among the adolescents. The largest group comprised about 46 percent of the sample. These individuals displayed low levels of social anxiety, narcissism, and aggression. This profile appears to represent a well-adjusted or normative group with few social difficulties.

The second group accounted for approximately 30 percent of the participants. Adolescents in this profile reported the highest levels of social anxiety. They also scored high on vulnerable narcissism but low on grandiose narcissism and aggression. This group fits the prototypical description of social anxiety. These teens appear to manage their fear of rejection through inhibition and withdrawal.

The third group made up roughly 25 percent of the sample. This profile was characterized by moderate levels of social anxiety but high levels of impulsivity and aggression. Notably, these adolescents scored the highest on both vulnerable and grandiose narcissism. This combination of traits represents the “atypical” presentation of social anxiety.

“Social anxiety is a broad and heterogeneous mental health problem that is characterized by several features, beyond shyness,” Eriksson told PsyPost. “Recognizing its heterogeneity is the first step in identifying individuals, particularly adolescents, who may be struggling with social anxiety. By providing the tools (i.e., additional features that characterize social anxiety) we can intervene sooner, ideally before symptoms become entrenched, which will ultimately set the adolescent up for greater intra-personal and inter-personal success later in life.”

The researchers also found sex differences in profile membership. Boys were more likely than girls to belong to the third, aggressive profile. This suggests that boys may be more prone to expressing social fears through externalizing behaviors. This aligns with broader socialization norms where boys may be discouraged from showing vulnerability.

“It was exciting that these results replicated previous adult findings, which really underscores the robustness of these findings,” Eriksson said. “Even though this was in line with our a priori hypothesis, it was also interesting that boys were more likely to be in the ‘moderate social anxiety/high externalizing profile.’ It makes me think about how sex/gender influence the expression of social anxiety.”

But the study, like all research, has some limitations. The data was collected at a single point in time. This prevents researchers from establishing a causal relationship between narcissism and the development of aggressive social anxiety. It is unclear if the personality traits precede the anxiety or if they develop concurrently.

“A common misinterpretation we would like to preempt is the assumption that these profiles represent fixed or diagnostic categories,” Eriksson explained. “Rather, they reflect patterns of co-occurring traits and symptoms within a specific developmental window. Additionally, because the data are cross-sectional, we cannot infer developmental pathways or causal mechanisms. Replication (particularly in longitudinal designs) is therefore essential for understanding how these profiles emerge and change over time.”

Tracking these traits from childhood into adolescence could reveal early warning signs. Identifying these patterns early could lead to more effective interventions. Standard treatments for social anxiety may not work for teens who react with aggression rather than fear.

“I hope to examine early childhood antecedents of atypical social anxiety symptomology both behaviorally and biologically,” Eriksson said. “This will really inform treatment and prevention efforts. I also hope to examine in more detail the novel hypothesis we articulated: social anxiety is driven by two divergent self-regulatory pathways. This hypothesis requires a longitudinal study design, which is something we plan to do in the very near future.”

The study, “Characterizing the dark side of social anxiety in adolescence: A replication and extension study,” was authored by Mollie J. Eriksson and Louis A. Schmidt.

New research conducted across more than 50 nations indicates that the demographic factors associated with narcissism are remarkably consistent around the globe. The findings suggest that younger adults, men, and individuals who perceive themselves as having high social status tend to display higher levels of narcissistic traits, regardless of their cultural background. The research was published in the journal Self and Identity.

Psychology has historically faced a significant limitation regarding the diversity of its study participants. The vast majority of existing knowledge about personality traits comes from research conducted in Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic societies.

This geographic bias makes it difficult to determine whether psychological patterns are universal features of human nature or specific cultural byproducts. Scientists have debated whether the tendency for certain demographic groups to display higher narcissism is a global phenomenon or one unique to specific societies.

“Most of what we know about narcissism comes from studies conducted in the United States or a small handful of Western countries,” said study author William J. Chopik, an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University.

“That makes it hard to know whether well-known patterns—like younger people, men, or higher-status individuals scoring higher in narcissism—are culturally specific or more universal. We wanted to address that gap by examining narcissism across 53 countries and asking not only whether levels differ across cultures, but whether the same demographic patterns hold up around the world.”

The researchers utilized a multidimensional framework for understanding narcissism rather than treating it as a single trait. They employed the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Concept. This model distinguishes between two specific strategies individuals use to maintain a grandiose self-view.

The first strategy is narcissistic admiration. This aspect involves agentic self-promotion, striving for uniqueness, and seeking social praise. It is often associated with social potency and initial popularity. The second strategy is narcissistic rivalry. This aspect is more antagonistic and involves self-defense, devaluation of others, and striving for supremacy.

The researchers analyzed data from a massive international sample collected as part of the International Collaboration on Social and Moral Psychology. The final dataset included 45,800 participants from 53 different countries. The sample size per country ranged from 148 in Ecuador to 2,133 in Australia.

Participants completed the Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry Questionnaire. This measure asked respondents to rate their agreement with statements designed to assess both the agentic and antagonistic aspects of narcissism. Examples include statements about enjoying being the center of attention or wanting rivals to fail.

To measure perceived social status, the study utilized the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status. Participants were presented with an image of a ladder representing the social hierarchy of their society. They were asked to place themselves on the rung that best represented their standing in terms of money, education, and employment.

The researchers also incorporated country-level data to assess cultural context. They used Gross Domestic Product per capita to measure national economic prosperity. To measure cultural values, they utilized the Global Collectivism Index. This index assesses the degree to which a society prioritizes group cohesion and interdependence over individual autonomy.

The analysis revealed that demographic differences in narcissism were largely consistent across the 53 countries. Younger adults reported higher levels of both narcissistic admiration and rivalry compared to older adults. This finding aligns with developmental theories suggesting that narcissistic traits may help young adults establish autonomy and acquire resources.

As individuals age, they typically shift their focus toward prosocial goals and emotional stability. This maturation process appears to coincide with a reduction in narcissistic tendencies globally. The study provides evidence that this age-related decline is not specific to any single culture.

Gender differences also followed a consistent pattern worldwide. Men reported higher levels of narcissism than women across the majority of the nations surveyed. This gender gap was observed for both the admiration and rivalry dimensions of the trait.

Social role theories suggest that these differences may stem from societal expectations. Men are often socialized to be assertive and dominant, traits that overlap with narcissism. Women are frequently encouraged to be communal and nurturing, behaviors that conflict with self-absorption.

The researchers also found a robust link between perceived social status and narcissism. Individuals who placed themselves higher on the social ladder tended to report higher levels of narcissism. This association was observed consistently across the different cultural contexts.

People with high levels of narcissism often feel entitled to special privileges and view themselves as superior. This self-view likely drives them to seek out high-status positions. Conversely, achieving a high perceived status may reinforce narcissistic tendencies by validating their feelings of superiority.

While the demographic patterns were consistent, the average levels of narcissism did vary by country. The data indicated that people living in nations with a higher Gross Domestic Product reported higher levels of narcissism. This was particularly true for the dimension of narcissistic admiration.

This finding supports the notion that economic prosperity may create an environment that encourages self-focus. In wealthier societies, there may be more opportunities and cultural permission to engage in self-promotion. However, the relationship between culture and narcissism proved to be more complex than simply linking it to wealth.

“Most of the effects we observed are modest in size, which is typical for large, cross-cultural studies of personality,” Chopik told PsyPost. “That said, even small differences can matter when they show up consistently across tens of thousands of people and dozens of countries.”

“And there are also a lot of within country differences, such that even when looking at one country, people might dramatically differ from one another (and sometimes two people within a country vary more than two people from different countries). The real contribution here isn’t about pinpointing ‘the most narcissistic country,’ but about understanding how stable patterns of personality relate to culture, age, gender, and social standing.”

A notable finding from the study challenges the traditional view that narcissism is strictly a product of individualistic cultures. The researchers found that participants from more collectivistic countries reported higher levels of narcissism.

“One of the more surprising findings was that people from more collectivistic countries sometimes reported higher, not lower, levels of narcissism—particularly on the more agentic, admiration side,” Chopik said. “This challenges the common assumption that narcissism is mainly a product of highly individualistic cultures. It suggests that narcissistic traits may serve different functions in different cultural contexts, such as navigating social hierarchies rather than standing out as unique.”

“There’s an emerging literature about how the individualism/collectivism distinction is not as clean as people think—that collectivistic countries are these Pollyanna-ish utopias where everyone gets along. Rather, there are some examples in which collectivistic cultures are more competitive and could be more attuned to themselves and the hierarchies they find themselves in.”

The researchers examined whether cultural factors changed the strength of the demographic associations. For instance, they tested if the gender gap in narcissism was smaller or larger in collectivistic countries. The analysis showed that culture did not significantly moderate these demographic differences.

This lack of moderation implies that the mechanisms driving demographic differences in narcissism are relatively universal. The developmental processes of aging and the societal shaping of gender roles appear to exert a similar influence on personality regardless of the specific cultural backdrop.

“One key takeaway is that narcissism isn’t just a ‘Western’ phenomenon, nor does it look wildly different across cultures,” Chopik told PsyPost. “Younger people, men, and those who see themselves as higher in social status tend to report higher narcissism almost everywhere we looked. At the same time, average levels of narcissism do vary by country, and those differences appear to be linked to broader cultural and economic contexts. So, culture certainly mattered, but not for everything—some patterns are relatively similar in different cultures.”

As with all research, there are some limitations. The data was cross-sectional, meaning it captured a single point in time. This makes it impossible to determine if the age differences are due to developmental changes or generational differences between cohorts.

Future research utilizing longitudinal designs is necessary to track how narcissism changes within individuals over time. This would help clarify whether people truly become less narcissistic as they age or if older generations were simply less narcissistic to begin with.

The authors also note that this study focused on broad cultural dimensions like collectivism and wealth. Other cultural factors, such as political systems, family structures, or religious beliefs, may also play a role in shaping narcissism. Future investigations could explore these additional variables to build a more complete picture.

Potential misinterpretations of these findings should be avoided. The results do not imply that entire nations can be categorized as “narcissistic.”

“A common misinterpretation is to treat these findings as rankings or judgments about entire countries or cultures,” Chopik noted. “That’s not what the data are meant to do. These are average differences with substantial overlap between countries, and individuals within any culture vary far more than cultures do from one another. So I understand the desire to describe the most and least narcissistic countries, but I actually think that’s a little less interesting, especially given that cultural differences aren’t that big.”

The study provides a comprehensive look at how personality traits interact with culture. It moves beyond the simple East-West dichotomy often used in psychology. By including a vast array of nations, the research offers a more nuanced understanding of the human experience.

“A natural next step is to move beyond mean differences and examine how narcissism operates in daily life across cultures—how it relates to relationships, work, and well-being in different contexts,” Chopik explained. “That might include how narcissism changes over time differently depending on the context. We’re also interested in understanding how cultural change, such as economic development or shifts toward individualism, might shape narcissism over time. Longitudinal and mixed-method approaches will be especially important for that.”

“One thing worth emphasizing is that narcissism isn’t inherently ‘good’ or ‘bad,'” the researcher added. “Some aspects, like admiration, can be linked to confidence and motivation, while others, like rivalry, are more clearly associated with interpersonal conflict. Studying narcissism across cultures helps us better understand when and where these traits might be adaptive—and when they might come at a cost.”

The study, “Cultural moderation of demographic differences in narcissism,” was authored by Macy M. Miscikowski, Rebekka Weidmann, Sara H. Konrath, and William J. Chopik.

A new meta-analysis provides evidence that the quality of emotional bonds formed in adulthood is connected to specific types of narcissism. The findings indicate that insecure attachment styles are strong risk factors for vulnerable narcissism, whereas grandiose narcissism appears largely unrelated to these attachment patterns. This research was published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences.

Psychologists classify narcissism into two primary subtypes that share antagonistic traits but differ in their expression. Grandiose narcissism is characterized by extraversion, aggression, and a dominant interpersonal style. Individuals with these traits tend to have an inflated sense of self-importance and often seek to control others.

Vulnerable narcissism presents a different profile marked by introversion and high neuroticism. People with high levels of vulnerable narcissism possess a fragile sense of self and are hypersensitive to the opinions of others. They often display a defensive form of grandiosity that masks deep-seated feelings of inadequacy.

Narcissistic traits are associated with various negative outcomes in life, particularly within interpersonal relationships. Romantic partnerships involving narcissistic individuals often suffer from a lack of commitment and higher rates of infidelity. These relationships can be characterized by manipulation and aggression during conflicts.

To understand the origins of these maladaptive patterns, researchers often look to attachment theory. This theory posits that early experiences with caregivers shape “internal working models” of the self and others. These models persist into adulthood and influence how individuals navigate romantic intimacy and emotional dependency.

Previous research on the link between attachment and narcissism has produced inconsistent results. Some studies have suggested links between narcissism and anxious attachment, while others have pointed toward avoidant styles. The authors of the current study aimed to resolve these inconsistencies by systematically reviewing and synthesizing data from existing literature.

“Our interest came from wanting to better understand developmental risk factors that might help explain how narcissistic traits emerge. The existing literature was inconsistent and often treated narcissism as a single construct, so we conducted a meta-analysis to clarify how different attachment styles relate to different forms of narcissism. This allowed us to bring together a large body of evidence and resolve some of that inconsistency,” said study author Megan Willis, an associate professor at Australian Catholic University.

The researchers searched five major academic databases for studies published up to May 2024. To be included in the review, studies had to be written in English and utilize validated measures of both adult attachment and trait narcissism.

The review focused exclusively on non-clinical adult samples to understand these traits in the general population. The researchers utilized a tool called AXIS to assess the quality and potential bias of the selected studies. This process resulted in a final selection of 33 studies.

The combined sample across these studies included 10,675 participants. The researchers used statistical software to calculate the overall strength of the relationships between narcissism subtypes and four distinct attachment styles. These styles are secure, preoccupied, dismissive, and fearful.

Secure attachment is defined by a positive view of both oneself and others. People with this style are generally comfortable with intimacy and independence. Preoccupied attachment involves a negative view of the self but a positive view of others, leading to anxiety and a need for reassurance.

Dismissive attachment is characterized by a positive view of the self but a negative view of others. Individuals with this style tend to avoid intimacy and prioritize self-reliance. Fearful attachment involves negative views of both the self and others, resulting in a desire for contact paired with a fear of rejection.

The meta-analysis revealed that the relationship between attachment and narcissism depends heavily on the specific subtype of narcissism involved. Vulnerable narcissism showed a significant positive relationship with all three forms of insecure attachment. The strongest association was found between vulnerable narcissism and preoccupied attachment.

This finding suggests that vulnerable narcissism is closely linked to anxiety regarding abandonment and a dependence on external validation. Individuals with these traits may use narcissistic behaviors as a compensatory strategy. They may seek excessive reassurance to regulate a fragile self-esteem that relies on others’ approval.

A moderate positive relationship was also observed between vulnerable narcissism and fearful attachment. This attachment style is often rooted in inconsistent or rejecting caregiving. The link implies that vulnerable narcissism may involve defensive withdrawal and hypervigilance in relationships.

“In many ways the findings were consistent with what we expected, particularly the link between insecure attachment and vulnerable narcissism,” Willis told PsyPost. “What did surprise us was the strength of those relationships, especially for preoccupied and fearful attachment. The effects were stronger than I would have predicted going into the study.”

The researchers also found a weak but significant relationship between vulnerable narcissism and dismissive attachment. This indicates that while these individuals may crave validation, they also employ strategies to maintain emotional distance. Consistent with these findings, vulnerable narcissism was negatively associated with secure attachment.

The results for grandiose narcissism presented a sharp contrast. The analysis showed no significant relationship between grandiose narcissism and any of the insecure attachment styles. There was a negligible positive relationship with secure attachment, but it was not strong enough to be considered practically meaningful.

These findings challenge the idea that all forms of narcissism stem from deep-seated insecurity or attachment wounds. Grandiose narcissism appears to be distinct from the anxiety and avoidance that characterize vulnerable narcissism. Some theories suggest grandiose traits may stem from parental overvaluation rather than lack of warmth.

“The key takeaway is that attachment styles — particularly fearful and preoccupied attachment — are important risk factors for vulnerable narcissism,” Willis explained. “This suggests that fostering secure attachment in childhood and helping people work through attachment wounds later in life may reduce the risk of these patterns developing or persisting.”

As with all research, there are some limitations. The data analyzed was cross-sectional, meaning it captures a snapshot in time. This prevents researchers from determining whether insecure attachment causes narcissism or if narcissistic traits lead to insecure attachment.

“These findings are correlational, so we cannot say attachment causes narcissism,” Willis noted. “They also do not mean that everyone with insecure attachment will develop vulnerable narcissism. What our results do suggest, however, is that for people who are high in vulnerable narcissism, insecure attachment may be an important risk factor.”

The reliance on self-report measures is another constraint. Individuals with narcissistic traits may lack the self-awareness or willingness to report their behaviors accurately. This is especially true for grandiose narcissists who may exaggerate their sense of security.

Future research should focus on longitudinal studies that track individuals from childhood through adulthood. This would help clarify the causal pathways between early caregiving experiences and the development of narcissistic traits. Researchers also recommend investigating how these dynamics might differ across various cultures and genders.

“A key long-term goal is to increase understanding and education about the importance of attachment in childhood and how early relationships can have lifelong effects,” Willis said. “I’m particularly interested in how parenting and early caregiving shape emotion regulation and interpersonal functioning. In my current work, I’m examining whether difficulties with emotion regulation help explain the link between vulnerable narcissism and intimate partner violence. This may help inform more targeted prevention and intervention strategies.”

The study, “The relationship between attachment styles and narcissism: a systematic and meta-analytic review,” was authored by Jamie Mohay, Kadie Cheng, Xochitl de la Piedad Garcia, and Megan L. Willis.