Identifying narcissistic personality disorders in preadolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To establish whether consensus exists among 3 diagnostic systems that outline criteria for narcissistic personality disorders (NPDs) in children (Kernberg), in adolescents (Bleiberg), and in adults primarily (DSM-IV) and to identify age-related criteria for preadolescents.


METHODS
A comparative analysis was used to determine the rate of concordance for the 9 DSM-IV criteria for NPD.


RESULTS
There is a high concordance among the 3 systems for DSM criteria, suggesting that NPD can be identified among preadolescents.


CONCLUSIONS
Preliminary ways of adapting DMS-IV criteria for NPD in this age group are discussed.
Guilé
J M
JM
Borderline Conditions Program, Douglas Hospital, Montreal, Quebec.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D009289:Narcissism; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales