ArticleBMC psychology2026
Gender differences and age trends in pathological narcissism on a sample of Iranian students.
Article in BMC psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Pathological Narcissism and Psychological Distress Among University Students: The Interplay of Family Dynamics, Trauma, and Health-Related Factors.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Narcissistic Traits and Psychological Distress Among Medical Students: Implications for Mental Health Support in Medical Education.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe prevalence of narcissistic personality disorder is higher in men than women, and men tend to score higher than women on many self-report measures of narcissism. However, these findings may be contingent on the conceptualization of narcissism and measures used. Further, there is evidence indicating that women can also exhibit higher levels of narcissism. Gender differences in narcissism present a complex and unclear picture.
methodsThis study, utilizing the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI), aims to investigate the scores of pathological narcissism among men and women in Iranian society and its age trends across genders. A total of 707 students from 8 universities in three metropolises participated, with 319 men and 388 women that completed the PNI.
resultsFindings indicated no significant differences in the overall scores of pathological narcissism and its two phenotypes, narcissistic grandiosity and narcissistic vulnerability, between men and women. Gender was not a significant predictor for pathological narcissism. Additionally, a significant correlation was observed between age and pathological narcissism, particularly among men, who displayed a fluctuating trend in pathological narcissism and narcissistic vulnerability with age.
conclusionsThe present study does not provide a support for the idea that men are more pathologically narcissistic than women in Iranian culture based on the PNI. There is an evidence for a possibility to develop pathological narcissism over lifespan differently across genders. Furthermore, social and situational factors may be influenced more men’s than women’s pathological narcissism within Iranian culture. Future research investigating influential factors in the development of narcissism across genders is strongly recommended.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.