Narcissism Levels and Empathic Capacity in Patients with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Introduction. Studies have shown that Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) patients often have personality disorders in adulthood. Objective. This study aimed to explore the notion that adult ADHD, narcissism, and empathy may be interconnected. Method. Researchers recruited ninety-five patients (fifty-five men and forty-two women) with ADHD according to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. They also recruited forty-four healthy individuals for a control group (sixteen men and twenty-eight women). Researchers evaluated patients with the Adult ADHD Self-Report Scale (ASRS), the Pathological Narcissism Inventory (PNI), and the Empathy Quotient for Adults (EQ-60). Results. Researchers found that patients with ADHD had higher narcissism scores than the healthy control group. However, we did not find significant differences between the inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity subgroups. Contrary to expectations, we did not find statistically significant differences between the Empathy Scale scores in the inattention, hyperactivity impulsivity, and healthy control groups. We also found that narcissistic features were significantly associated with ADHD severity in the logistic regression analysis model. Discussion and conclusion. This study found that the increased level of narcissistic pathology seen in patients with adult ADHD, particularly in the inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity subtypes, is probably related to the severity of ADHD. These results demonstrate the importance of psychotherapies focusing on narcissistic pathology in patients with adult ADHD.