THURSDAY, Feb. 27, 2003 (HealthDayNews) -- Mixing narcissism with rejection can lead to trouble.
People with narcissistic personalities who are subjected to social rejection are more aggressive than people who are less self-absorbed, say researchers at San Diego State University and the University of Georgia.
The finding may help explain while some teenagers are more likely to resort to violence than other teens.
The researchers did four studies that included undergraduate students. They first completed a standard questionnaire used to measure narcissism. The students then were subjected to either social acceptance or rejection and given the opportunity to express their anger and aggression.
In all the studies, narcissistic students exhibited more anger and aggression after being rejected.
The findings appear in the February issue of Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.
More information
Here's information about another study that looked at narcissism and criticism.
