February 28, 2007
College Students Are More Narcisistic…
“We need to stop endlessly repeating ‘You’re special’ and having children repeat that back. Kids are self-centered enough already.”
No, these are not the words of Dr. Casey, (not an exact quote anyway). Rather, the quote comes from Psychologist Jean Twenge of San Diego State University. AP writer DAVID CRARY reports that Twenge is the lead author on a recent study suggesting that today’s college students are more narcissistic than those of 25 years ago. The study examined changes in scores on the Narcissistic Personality Inventory between 1982 and 2006.
Is it just a little ironic that someone who studies narcissism has a press release for almost ALL of her publications?
You may be interested in reading a bit more on the topic. The public has been worried about young people for some time now. Blaming parents is nothing new, either. Even parents blame parents. In fact, six in 10 parents rate their generation as “fair” or “poor” in raising children. For more information click http://www.publicagenda.org/research/research_reports_details.cfm?list=33.
I would say you’re right when you say “The public has been worried about young people for some time now.” But, it’s important to note that public perception of poor parenting does not necessarily make it so. It could be that public CONCERN for parenting skills is on the rise. As such, it may be coming under greater scrutiny but actually improving.
Children today are raised by television programs and the internet more than ever before. Perhaps parents should look more into that than improving a child’s self confidence, which has little to do with being spoiled.