NEW YORK: College students forming the current generation are more narcissistic than their predecessors, claims a study carried out by a San Diego State University psychologist.
In the study published Tuesday, researchers led by the psychologist, Jean Twenge, say the prospects of a rising ego rush can lead to personal and social problems for the Millennial Generation. People with a blotted sense of self are found to be having less interest in intimate relations that bind people and in such circumstances, they can be aggressive and uncontrollable when they have to face rejection or insult.
The internet, with its MySpaces and YouTubes are allowing the self-regard to flourish to dangerous levels, said the study, "Egos Inflating Over Time."
Twenge says the truth leaves her very worried as she feels people seem to be heading toward a society where they are going to treat each other badly, either on the street or in relationships.
Her research team comprising scientists from the University of Michigan, University of Georgia and University of South Alabama, studied the results of psychological surveys taken by 16,475 college students nationwide who participated in an evaluation program, Narcissistic Personality Inventory, between 1982 and 2006. The team found that nearly two-thirds of college students of the current generation showed narcissism scores that were above the average 1982 score. Nearly 30 per cent more college students showed elevated narcissism in 2006 compared to 1982.
Twenge said her team is not making out that more students today have a pathological narcissistic personality disorder requiring psychiatric correction. But, traits of narcissism have increased by moderate but significant amounts, she said.
The rise could be attributed to some of the self-esteem programs that many elementary schools had conducted 20 years ago, the study said. Trends like permissive societies and parents, growth of materialism and reality TV shows also seem to have increased self-regard, the study said.
