Related Experiment Videos
The diagnostic interview for narcissistic patients.
J G Gunderson1, E Ronningstam, A Bodkin
1Psychosocial Research Program, McLean Hospital, Belmont, Mass 02178.
Archives of General Psychiatry
|July 1, 1990
Summary
This study introduces the Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism, a tool to assess pathological narcissism. It provides a reliable method for researching narcissistic personality disorder, addressing a gap in empirical data.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Personality Disorders
Background:
- Pathological narcissism is a significant clinical concern.
- Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is included in diagnostic manuals without a strong empirical foundation.
- There is a need for reliable instruments to study NPD.
Purpose of the Study:
- To describe the development and content of the Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism (DIN).
- To provide a structured method for evaluating pathological narcissism.
- To facilitate empirical research into narcissistic personality disorder.
Main Methods:
- Development of a semistructured interview, the DIN.
- Evaluation of 33 features of pathological narcissism across five functional domains.
- Reliability studies and development of a scoring system using patient samples.
Main Results:
- The DIN assesses key features of pathological narcissism.
- Reliability studies support the utility of the interview.
- A scoring system was developed based on prototypic narcissistic patients and comparison groups.
Conclusions:
- The Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism is a validated tool for assessing pathological narcissism.
- The DIN can be used to conduct much-needed empirical research on narcissistic personality disorder.
- This instrument addresses the lack of empirical basis for NPD in diagnostic systems.