Psychologists have described the narcissistic profile of sex maniacs

Narcissism has long been linked to violence and lust for power, but a new study from the University of Bamberg shows a more complex picture - especially in serial killers whose crimes are sexually motivated. The scientists analysed not diagnoses but the perpetrators' own words - their confessions, interrogations and interviews - to understand exactly how narcissistic traits manifest themselves in their thinking and self-descriptions.

Who made it into the study

The authors of the paper, published in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, used the Radford FGCU serial killer database. They selected 345 men with evidence of sexual motivation (killing for control, dominance, sexual gratification and sadistic fantasies) from more than 1,000 people who appeared there.

The final sample included 45 serial killers for whom full transcripts of confessions or interviews were available.

• All were men who acted alone.

• The crimes were committed between 1960 and 2021.

• Each killed between 2 and 22 victims (average about 8).

• About 71% were white, 20% were black, and about 9% were Hispanic.

The scientists didn't ask the question "do they have narcissistic personality disorder" - instead, they looked for individual facets of narcissism and their combinations.

The two sides of narcissism: grandiose and vulnerable

Narcissism in modern psychology is divided into two major types:

• Grandiose - sense of specialness, entitlement to more, desire for admiration, tendency to humiliate others, demonstrative dominance.

• Vulnerable -vulnerability, hypersensitivity to criticism, feelings of rejection, anxiety, tendency to withdraw into oneself and resentment.

The authors used two models:

1. Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry

   • Admiration - self-presentation, charm, desire to appear unique and outstanding.

   • Rivalry - rivalry, devaluing others, aggressive response to status threat.

2. Vulnerable Isolation and Enmity

   • Isolation - social withdrawal, secrecy, self-doubt, expectation of criticism.

   • Enmity - envy, suspicion, feeling unfairly attacked, hidden anger and vindictiveness.

The researchers analysed those fragments of speech where the perpetrators described:

• the first two murders,

• their childhood, and their life path.

The phrases were coded according to a predetermined guideline: boasting of special "dexterity" and superiority over the police referred to grandiose narcissism, complaints about "everyone is against me", "I was always humiliated" - to vulnerable, etc.

What the words of the killers themselves revealed

Narcissistic themes were found in the statements of most of the 45 people. Specifically:

• Vulnerable narcissism was found in 89% of the perpetrators.

• 87% hadgrandiose narcissism.

That is, the vast majority combined both braggadocio and vulnerability, rather than belonging to one "pure type."

The most common facet was vulnerable hostility (enmity):

• signs of envy, suspicion, perceiving others as hostile - in 84 per cent of the killers;

• it accounted for 38 per cent of all coded text fragments.

Vulnerable isolation - social withdrawal, doubt, fear of criticism - was less common:

• 58% of offenders and in only 13% of fragments.

Grandiose traits:

• Admiration (self admiration, demonstration of "specialness") - in 76% of murderers and 26% of fragments;

• Rivalry (humiliation of others, aggression when status is threatened) - in 71% of killers, 24% of fragments.

Statistical analyses showed that the traits are unevenly distributed: vulnerable hostility is highly "over-reported" and isolation is markedly lower than expected.

It is not individual traits that are dangerous, but combinations of them

It is not "percentages in isolation" that are particularly important, but sets of traits within a single person.

Research shows:

• Grandiose traits often come in packages:

  • those who sought admiration (admiration) often simultaneously despised and devalued others (rivalry);

• Vulnerable traits are also closely related:

  • those who felt isolated almost always also showed hostility and a sense of "everyone is against me".

The most complex picture is that of those with intertwined grandiose and vulnerable manifestations:

• some of the killers at the same time:

  • boasted of special "strength" or "intelligence" and

  • told long stories of injustice, humiliation, trauma, persecution and hatred of others.

A separate subgroup combined grandiose rivalry with vulnerable hostility ( enmity ) - an outward desire for dominance and contempt for others juxtaposed with underlying suspicion, bitterness and a sense of a hostile world.

The authors note that such complex combinations may be more useful for profiling offenders than finding a "pure narcissist" of one type.

And an important warning

The researchers emphasise:

• Narcissistic traits in mild form are present in many people and do not, by themselves, predict violence.

• Sensitivity to criticism, a tendency to take offence or a desire for recognition do not make a person a potential perpetrator.

• Any application of such profiles in an investigation must take into account behaviour, history, context and not be based on psychological labels alone.

The main conclusion of the paper is that the sexually motivated serial killers in this study do not fit into a simple scheme of "only grandiose" or "only vulnerable" narcissism. They simultaneously exhibit poser confidence, painful resentment, a thirst for admiration, and an underlying sense of a hostile world.