A new study claims that Texas, Iowa, and New Hampshire are “home to the most narcissists” in the United States, with Texas taking the number one spot.
Counseling Psychology ranked U.S. states for narcissism and published the findings on its website.
“From a coworker referring to their partner as a narcissist to your friend talking about their narcissistic boss, it’s increasingly common for the term ‘narcissist’ to come up. While people may be misusing or overusing the word in conversation, online search data shows they are trying to learn more about this behavior,” the organization reported.
How did the study determine its rankings?
“To determine what types of questions Americans have about narcissism, we collected Google search data over the past year in every state and the 30 most populous cities. We divided our list of search terms into four categories: learning about narcissists, narcissists in relationships, narcissists in families, and narcissists at work,” the site reported.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Study Found That People Most Commonly Search the Question, ‘Can Narcissists Change?’
GettyDes Moines, Iowa.
The study found that “Texas, Iowa, and New Hampshire are home to the most narcissists in the U.S.” but also ranked the cities with the most narcissists.
“New York, NY, Indianapolis, IN, San Jose, CA, and El Paso, TX are home to the most narcissists in the U.S.,” the study found.
The most searched question by Americans on the topic was “Can narcissists change?” according to the study.
“Moms, husbands, and boyfriends are the most common relationships Americans perceive to be narcissistic,” the study says. “Residents in the South are the most likely to seek information regarding narcissists online.”
Nebraska, Washington D.C., Wyoming, and Hawaii were ranked as the states with the lowest number of suspect narcissists, based on the study’s model. The full rankings can be found on the group’s website.
Texas Fared Poorly in the Study
GettyAerial view of downtown Dallas, Texas,
Texas did not rank well in the study. “Leading the way is Texas, with a narcissist search score of 92.5 across all four categories,” it found.
“Residents in The Lone Star State are the most likely in the U.S. to turn to the internet to learn more about narcissists and their behavior. In addition, Texas residents are the most likely to search online for tips on how to handle narcissistic behavior in the workplace,” it says.
According to the Mayo Clinic, narcissistic personality disorder “is a mental health condition in which people have an unreasonably high sense of their own importance. They need and seek too much attention and want people to admire them. People with this disorder may lack the ability to understand or care about the feelings of others. But behind this mask of extreme confidence, they are not sure of their self-worth and are easily upset by the slightest criticism.”
The site adds, “A narcissistic personality disorder causes problems in many areas of life, such as relationships, work, school or financial matters. People with narcissistic personality disorder may be generally unhappy and disappointed when they’re not given the special favors or admiration that they believe they deserve. They may find their relationships troubled and unfulfilling, and other people may not enjoy being around them.”
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