Foreign Teachers Guide to Living and Working in China

Narcissistic Tendencies Test

Is Your Partner a Narcissist?

For each of the following 25 questions, think of your girlfriend (or boyfriend) and score each one from 1 through 5 using the following key: 1—strongly disagree; 2—somewhat disagree; 3—not sure/can't really say; 4—somewhat agree; 5—strongly agree.

  1. She feels that exceptions to the rules should be made for her.
  2. She has expectations of herself that I or others view as unrealistic.
  3. She fakes emotions she thinks she ought to have but doesn't really have.
  4. She seems uncomfortable with or undeserving of flattery or praise.
  5. She becomes outraged if she believes someone has slighted or ignored her.
  6. She is very forgiving of herself whenever she does anything wrong, but is very hard on or critical of me or others.
  7. She will overextend herself or go into debt in order to make a good impression.
  8. Deep down inside, she knows she is underappreciated for her talents, beauty, or achievements (real or imagined).
  9. She is overly concerned with or excessively proud of her physical appearance.
  10. She believes she has been cheated or deprived of something which is due her.
  11. You or others view her as "spoiled."
  12. She loves being the center of attention.
  13. She knows she is smarter or cleverer than others.
  14. She has been referred to as "modest" or "humble."
  15. She hates or procrastinates taking care of anything she considers to be mundane or routine (like paying bills).
  16. She believes that the universe has something very special in store for her.
  17. She thinks that her time is more valuable than most other's.
  18. She has no patience or tolerance for other people's problems.
  19. During conversations, she listens more than she talks.
  20. She doesn't seem to notice when she is boring others or has warn out her welcome.
  21. She has spied on me, eavesdropped, read my e-mail or otherwise snooped through my computer or personal belongings.
  22. She believes that she has psychic or other special abilities.
  23. Whether at work or at home, she tried to get out of doing menial tasks.
  24. She seemed to almost immediately fall in love with me in the beginning, and then quickly cooled-off after that.
  25. She has a history of abruptly ending relationships without ever thinking about them again.

Please Note: Before totaling up all the points, you will need to reverse the scoring for questions 4, 14, and 19. That is, 5=1, 4=2, 3=3, 2=4, and 1=5 for questions 4, 14, and 19.

Discussion

A total score of 90 to 110 indicates the presence of moderate to moderately-high narcissistic tendencies and a score of 111 to 125 indicates very strong narcissistic tendencies that are most likely diagnosable.

Life with a pathological narcissist is not a happy one. If your current partner is a narcissist, and especially if you have a history of being attracted to this type of person, this also says a great deal about you as well.

Pathologically narcissistic women are commonly drawn to two specific types of characterological constellations (cluster of traits) in men: those who also have narcissistic traits (or disorders) and those who suffer from what is referred to as a borderline personality disorder. Specifically, closet narcissists (see previous unit) tend to be drawn to borderline men, while exhibitionistic narcissists seek out men who are also phallic narcissists as well. The later include those "beautiful people" or "special couples" who bask in each other's glory. The former relationship type (closet narcissistic female and the borderline male) is usually marked by a woman who feels burdened, even martyred, by her ineffectual, disappointing husband and a man who feels angry and resentful most of the time and may even "screw up" frequently to punish (as well as self-destructively validate) his critical, disapproving, and unadmiring wife. He stays because he is terrified of being alone and also because he feels inadequate and unlovable, and she stays because she has found in him someone who generally understands and can relate to her struggles and, at times, a man who is even a true admirer.

Diagnostic criteria for Borderline Personality Disorder

A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following:

  1. frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment. Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.
  2. a pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
  3. identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self
  4. impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging (e.g., spending, sex, Substance Abuse, reckless driving, binge eating). Note: Do not include suicidal or self-mutilating behavior covered in Criterion 5.
  5. recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilating behavior
  6. affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood (e.g., intense episodic dysphoria, irritability, or anxiety usually lasting a few hours and only rarely more than a few days)
  7. chronic feelings of emptiness
  8. inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger (e.g., frequent displays of temper, constant anger, recurrent physical fights)
  9. transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms


Search The Guide

Beijing Time