The narcissism epidemic

The narcissism epidemic

What are the common struggles and victories in addiction recovery? This conversation on All In The Mind takes a sideways look at something that often sits underneath unhealthy behaviours: narcissism and our culture’s growing obsession with the self. Psychology professor Jean Twenge joins host Lynne Malcolm to talk through decades of research showing higher narcissism scores among more recent generations of US college students.

Using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, she and colleague Keith Campbell tracked a clear rise in traits like entitlement, vanity and the hunger to stand out. As Twenge puts it, a child singing, "I am special, I am special, look at me" is already ticking off key narcissistic items on that scale. You’ll hear a clear distinction between healthy self-esteem and narcissism.

People with solid self-esteem value relationships and caring; narcissists tend to lack empathy, struggle in relationships and chase money, fame and image. Twenge points to cultural signs like booming plastic surgery rates, bigger houses, unique baby names and celebrity reality TV as reflections of a wider self-focused mindset. For anyone trying to rebuild life after addiction, the episode offers a useful reality check on the "believe in yourself and anything is possible" mantra.

Twenge explains that self-esteem alone doesn’t cause better grades or job success, and that overconfidence can actually fuel risky decisions and crash-and-burn outcomes. Instead, she argues for self-efficacy, hard work, self-control and perspective-taking—being able to imagine walking in someone else’s shoes—as the qualities that truly support long-term success. Parents get practical ideas too: say "I love you" instead of "you’re special", praise effort and improvement, and focus less on being unique and more on caring for others.

The message is blunt but hopeful: if rising narcissism is a cultural shift, it affects all of us, which means all of us can help change it. How might your own recovery or parenting look different if you swapped "I’m great" for "if I practise, I know I can do it"?