‘Female narcissism is often misdiagnosed’: how science is finding women can have a dark streak too

Research into ‘dark personality traits’ has always focused on men. But some experts believe standard testing misses the ways an antisocial personality manifests itself in women

Picture a psychopath. Who do you see in your mind’s eye? Chances are it’s a man. And chances are your answer would be similar if you were asked to picture a narcissist. From Charles Manson and Ted Bundy to Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler and Donald Trump, most famous people we consider psychopathic or narcissistic are male. That’s even the case for fiction – think Hannibal Lecter, Patrick Bateman or Norman Bates.

Scientists long assumed that women were simply too wonderful to be significantly psychopathic or narcissistic, and didn’t bother to study the possibility much, according to Ava Green from City St George’s, University of London. But research over the past few decades is increasingly challenging this stereotype, suggesting women can have a dark streak, too. Much like in autism or ADHD, such traits just express themselves slightly differently in women – making them harder to spot with diagnostic tests that were essentially developed for men.

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