The maturation of narcissism: Commentary for the special series “Narcissistic personality disorder—New perspectives on diagnosis and treatment”

Comments on the articles by A. E. Skodol et al. (see record 2013-24395-001), E. Ronningstam (see record 2014-42878-005), D. Diamond et al. (see record 2014-42878-004), and A. L. Pincus et al. (see record 2014-01439-001). This series of articles raises an interesting meta-issue worthy of further consideration: How specific is vulnerability to narcissism? Is this a “Criterion A” feature of most personality disorders, with variants (e.g., paranoid, histrionic, etc.) defined by how one reacts to an inner sense of fragility, vulnerability, or immaturity? Or should vulnerability be more meaningfully incorporated into the specific criteria for narcissistic personality disorder, which have tended to overemphasize grandiosity? These are important questions that can only be worked out meaningfully with further research