Entering adulthood during recession makes you less narcissistic later in life

A new research has revealed that economic conditions in the formative years of early adulthood may play a role in one's narcissistic tendencies.

The research shows that people who entered their adulthood during hard economic times are less narcissistic later in life than those who came of age during more prosperous times.

"These findings suggest that economic conditions during this formative period of life not only affect how people think about finances and politics, but also how they think about themselves and their importance relative to others," psychological scientist and study author Emily Bianchi of Emory University's Goizueta Business School said.

Narcissists view themselves as unique, special, and entitled to the good things that come their way.

Research has shown that adversity tempers narcissism, leading Bianchi to wonder whether economic downturns might dampen such inflated self-regard.

Young adults are disproportionately affected by economic downturns and most are likely to endure humbling setbacks. Given the impressionability of this period of life, dampened narcissism is likely to stay with them for decades to come.

Survey data from over 1500 US adults revealed that worse economic conditions during emerging adulthood, as measured by the average unemployment rate when respondents were 18 to 25 years old, were associated with lower narcissism scores later in life.

The link between economic conditions and narcissism held even after gender and education were taken into account, and was not explained by varying levels of self-esteem.

Importantly, economic conditions in later stages of adulthood did not show the same association with narcissism.

The study is published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.