Stability of Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Tracking Categorical and Dimensional Rating Systems Over a Two-Year Period

Personality disorders are characterized as temporally stable patterns of symptoms (APA, 2000). However, evidence on the stability of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is generally lacking. This study tracked the prevalence and remission rates of individual criteria for NPD over the course of 2...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Personality disorders 2014-07, Vol.5 (3), p.305-313
Main Authors: Vater, Aline, Ritter, Kathrin, Strunz, Sandra, Ronningstam, Elsa F, Renneberg, Babette, Roepke, Stefan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Diagnosis
Disease Progression
Female
Follow-Up Studies
Human
Humans
Male
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Personality Disorders - diagnosis
Personality Disorders - epidemiology
Prevalence
Rating
Remission, Spontaneous
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Summary:Personality disorders are characterized as temporally stable patterns of symptoms (APA, 2000). However, evidence on the stability of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is generally lacking. This study tracked the prevalence and remission rates of individual criteria for NPD over the course of 2 years. In addition, the stability of dimensional personality pathology in patients with NPD (assessed with the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology, DAPP-BQ) was assessed over time. A sample of 96 patients with a diagnosis of NPD was recruited at baseline. Forty patients participated in the follow-up assessment 2 years later. Our results indicate a moderate remission rate (53%) for NPD as a categorical diagnosis. However, single NPD criteria differed in their prevalence and temporal stability, similar to findings for other personality disorders. Moreover, scores on dimensional subscales of the DAPP-BQ remained stable over time. Theoretical implications are discussed.
ISSN:1949-2715
1949-2723
DOI:10.1037/per0000058