title: Stability of narcissistic personality disorder: tracking categorical and dimensional rating systems over a two-year period.
abstract: Personality disorders are characterized as temporally stable patterns of symptoms (APA, 2000). However, evidence on the stability of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is generally lacking. This study tracked the prevalence and remission rates of individual criteria for NPD over the course of 2 years. In addition, the stability of dimensional personality pathology in patients with NPD (assessed with the Dimensional Assessment of Personality Pathology, DAPP-BQ) was assessed over time. A sample of 96 patients with a diagnosis of NPD was recruited at baseline. Forty patients participated in the follow-up assessment 2 years later. Our results indicate a moderate remission rate (53%) for NPD as a categorical diagnosis. However, single NPD criteria differed in their prevalence and temporal stability, similar to findings for other personality disorders. Moreover, scores on dimensional subscales of the DAPP-BQ remained stable over time. Theoretical implications are discussed.
authors: Cluster of Excellence-Languages of Emotion, Free University of Berlin.
authors: Aline
authors: A
authors: Vater
authors: Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin.
authors: Kathrin
authors: K
authors: Ritter
authors: Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Benjamin Franklin.
authors: Sandra
authors: S
authors: Strunz
authors: Harvard Medical School/McLean Hospital.
authors: Elsa F
authors: EF
authors: Ronningstam
authors: Department for Educational Science and Psychology, Free University of Berlin.
authors: Babette
authors: B
authors: Renneberg
authors: Cluster of Excellence-Languages of Emotion, Free University of Berlin.
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Roepke
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018450:Disease Progression; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous