Narcissism decreases with age.
Young people are more likely to be narcissistic
Analysis by researchers at the University of Bern have found that young people are more likely to be self-absorbed, although the trait mellows with age as an individual's roles and responsibilities change.
However, the team found that the differences are stable over time - meaning that narcissistic children are likely to be the same as adults.
Dr. Ulrich Orth, the lead author of the study, said: "These findings have important implications given that high levels of narcissism influence people's lives in many ways - both the lives of narcissistic individuals themselves and, maybe even more, the lives of their families and friends."
The experts did not explore the reasoning behind their results but are hoping that follow-up studies do so.
Dr. Orth said: "One theory suggests that the social rules we take on in adulthood, for example as a partner, a parent, an employee and so on, lead to the development of more mature personality characteristics, including lower levels of narcissism."