ABSTRACT
Background: Reports on the prevalence of NPD vary among studies, especially with an observed rise among university students. Subtypes of NPD have emerged with distinct clinical features: one marked by grandiosity linked to psychopathy, and another characterized by vulnerability, introversion, anxiety, and associations with childhood maltreatment. Research highlights a generational increase in narcissism among college students, varying across courses of study. Business students, in particular, exhibit higher levels of narcissism compared to psychology students. Interestingly, narcissism does not show a significant correlation, positive or negative, with business school classroom outcomes. Objectives: To assess and compare the occurrence of narcissistic personality disorder in undergraduates in various programs to understand its expressions within the academic environment. Materials And Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was utilized for this study. Four hundred respondents were selected using multi-stage sampling techniques. Data were collected using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire comprising both opened ended and closed questions. Data was analyzed using IBM SPSS version 25.0 and a p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results: The mean age group of the respondents was 23.5( + 2.9) years. Out of the total respondents, 54 (40.3%) in medicine, 48 (31.8%) in law, and 37 (32.2%) were found to have symptoms indicative of narcissistic personality disorder. The overall prevalence was 139 (34.8%) among the respondents. Sex, family structure(monogamous), household size( those who are less than 5), place of residence, and average annual income were found to have statistically significant with prevalence of narcissistic personality disorder among respondents. Conclusion: About one third of the respondents were found to have exhibited narcissistic personality disorder. Medical students appear to have a higher likelihood of displaying narcissistic traits than engineering students, this association does not reach statistical significance, indicating that, course of study does not have a statistically significant relationship with the presence of narcissistic traits Keywords: narcissistic, prevalence, undergraduates .
