Review of Handbook of narcissism and narcissistic personality disorder.

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Handbook of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder, by W. Keith Campbell and Joshua D. Miller, Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011, 511 Pages (ISBN-10: 047060722X, CA$ 110,40 Hardcover) Reviewed by Sebastien Larochelle DOI: 10.1037 /a0026800 As noted in the first chapter of this handbook, recent data indicate that the rate of narcissism is higher than ever among college students (Twenge & Campbell, 2009). Research also indicates that the prevalence of Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) is quite high in the general population, with a rate of 6.2% (Pulay, Goldstein, & Grant, 201 1). There is a high level of comorbidity between NPD and Axis I disorders, with proportions approaching 20% (Simonsen & Simonsen, 2011). The increased awareness of the phenomenon has probably stimulated research efforts in order to increase our knowledge of narcissism and NPD constructs, and ultimately to improve the effectiveness of current treatment modalities for narcissistic personalities. In addition, there has never been more interest among researchers and clinicians in NPD, against the backdrop of recent controversies regarding the manner in which narcissism/NPD should be conceptualised, assessed, and included or excluded from the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Considering the high prevalence and the debate in the literature around narcissism/NPD, a Handbook of Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder is quite needed, if not essential, for both researchers and clinicians. The Handbook includes 43 chapters organized into six sections. Section I is devoted to different conceptual models of narcissism and NPD. More specifically, Chapter 1 presents a historical overview of narcissism and NPD, Chapters 2 and 3 are on NPD and DSM classifications, Chapter 4 moves on to the distinction between granthose and vulnerable narcissism, and finally, Chapters 5 to 9 present different conceptual models of narcissism and NPD. Section II focuses on the measurement of narcissism and NPD. Chapters 10 and 11 are overviews of the existing tools for the measurement of NPD and trait narcissism, respectively. Chapters 12 and 13 deal with issues around the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, the most commonly used measure of narcissism. Finally, Section II ends with Chapter 14 on the assessment of narcissism in youth. Section III deals with epidemiology and etiology through Chapters 16 to 18. This is followed by an evolutionary model (Chapter 19), and a presentation on the neurological and physiological processes associated with narcissism (Chapter 20). Section IV includes presentations on the comorbidity of NPD with Axis I (Chapter 21) and II disorders (Chapter 22). The authors of Chapter 23 examine the relation between narcissism and selfesteem, whereas Chapter 24 is a review of the relations between narcissism/NPD and psychopathy. Section V includes Chapters (25 to 37) on intra- and interpersonal processes characteristic of narcissism/NPD: social perception, self-other representation discrepancies, self-enhancement, aggression, shame, romantic relationships, sexuality, social networks, consumerism, leadership, celebrity, and finally spirituality. Section VI contains Chapters (38 to 42) by experts on the applications of well-known psychological treatments for Borderline Personality Disorder to narcissism/NPD. The Handbook ends with Chapter 43 on experimental manipulations that modify narcissistic behaviours. The goal pursued by the editors with the Handbook was to bridge the gaps that characterise the literature on narcissism/NPD by gathering contributions from established researchers and clinicians in the field. It is noteworthy that they took up this challenge and attained their ambitious goal. The main strength of the Handbook is its grouping together of authors from various branches of psychology (e.g., social, personality, developmental, and clinical psychology) and from a wide range of theoretical perspectives (e. …