Malignant Narcissism vs. Narcissism vs. Narcissistic Personality Disorder

If you are hearing the term “malignant narcissism” for the first time, you may be wondering how it differs from narcissistic personality disorder or simple narcissism.

To understand the difference between narcissism, narcissistic personality disorder, and malignant narcissism, we should first define each of these terms.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Narcissistic personality disorder is a destructive preoccupation with one’s own adequacy, power, and prestige. People with this disorder crave admiration, have an unreasonably strong sense of entitlement, and are often preoccupied with unrealistic fantasies of success, beauty, power, or ideal love.

Unlike malignant narcissism, narcissistic personality disorder is recognized as a mental health condition in the DSM-5, the current text revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Narcissism

According to PsychCentral, the term “narcissism” is often used as a layman’s term for narcissistic personality disorder. However, Dr. Allan Schwartz (MentalHelp.net) argues that there is a distinct difference between simple narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder.

According to him, narcissistic personality disorder is a mental illness, whereas narcissism — although characterized by somewhat similar behaviors — is not classified as a mental illness.

Some of you reading this may feel that these two statements contradict each other, and to a certain degree, they do. It is probably safe to say that anyone with narcissistic personality disorder can be described as narcissistic, but not every narcissistic person has narcissistic personality disorder.

For example, some successful CEOs and entrepreneurs are sometimes described as narcissistic in popular writing, but that does not mean they have been diagnosed with a mental illness. On the other hand, some historical figures have been speculated to have had narcissistic personality disorder, but these are still retrospective opinions rather than confirmed clinical diagnoses.

Another indication that Dr. Schwartz may have a point is the existence of another term: “healthy narcissism.” Healthy narcissism simply means healthy and realistic self-esteem with no damage to one’s emotional life [3].

Having said that, while Dr. Schwartz may indeed have a point, it is important to know that using the terms “narcissism” and “narcissistic personality disorder” interchangeably is extremely common and, to a certain extent, acceptable in everyday language.

Malignant Narcissism

Campbell’s Psychiatric Dictionary defines malignant narcissism as a mix of narcissism, antisocial personality disorder, aggression, and sadism.

It is important to mention that malignant narcissism is not included in the DSM-5 as a separate diagnosis and is not considered a formal diagnostic term.

To understand this a little better, here is an example from DSM-5 Self-Exam Questions:

The correct answer is D: narcissistic personality disorder and antisocial personality disorder. The reason why answer B would be incorrect is that malignant narcissism is not a diagnostic term.

This means that while the young man from the example above may fit the description of malignant narcissism, he will not be diagnosed with it simply because “malignant narcissism” is a theoretical term. Instead, he would be diagnosed with other disorders because they are recognized diagnostic categories and appear to be most disruptive to his life.

If you think about it, malignant narcissism, by its current definition, is a mix of personality disorders and abnormal behaviors. So giving a more precise diagnosis makes sense. You can read through the explanation of this example online here (18.13).

In addition to what was mentioned above, the Journal of Psychoanalytic Psychology has described the film American Psycho as a screen illustration of malignant narcissism.

You may also like:

• Raised by a Narcissistic Mother
• 10 Warning Signs of a Narcissistic Sociopath
• Narcissists and the No Contact Rule
• Are You Dating a Narcissist?