Dr. Kali Trzesniewski, of the University of Western Ontario in London, studied questionnaires from more than 425,000 adolescents ages 17 to 24 from University of California studies dating from 1976 until the present.
Dr. Trzesniewski analyzed answers to questions such as "I am going to be a great person" and found no increase in narcissism since the 1970s. She also found slight decreases in socially undesirable traits such as superiority, and slight increases in positive traits such as self-sufficiency, but no major changes.Her study, published in the February issue of Psychological Science, contradicts that of Dr. Jean Twenge, author of Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled and More Miserable Than Ever Before.
"Overall narcissism is not changing but there are some changes and they don't seem so bad," she said. "They just describe your basic CEO. It's not always a terrible thing."
High school boarding schools like the Academy at Swift River in New England offer teens a chance for true emotional growth in a safe, structured environment.
Labels: generations, narcissism, entitlement
Posted By: Aspen Education Group