Narcissism Largely Genetic: Family Similarities Rooted in DNA
A large German twin-family study (6,715 participants) finds that about 50% of the variation in narcissism is due to genetics, with the other 50% from nonshared environmental factors; the shared family environment and parenting contribute virtually nothing. The resemblance between parents and children is driven by biology, not parenting behavior, and assortative mating also plays a role in transmitting biological markers. The study challenges the idea that parenting styles mold narcissism and suggests future work should focus on nonshared experiences and underlying biological mechanisms like hormones and neural reward systems.