Narcissistic factors contributing to choice of profession in clinical psycholog

This study was designed to assess narcissistic factors contributing to choice of profession in clinical psychology. Miller (1981) and others have discussed the preponderance of "narcissistic disturbance" among psychotherapists and the potential for such individuals to use the patient as a narcissistic extension of the self. This theory was empirically tested using 107 graduate students in clinical psychology and 145 nonpsychology graduate students. Both groups were administered a demographic questionnaire and a measure of the narcissistic disturbance contained within the O'Brien Multiphasic Narcissism Inventory (OMNI). The psychology group only was also administered the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). This measure was used on two occasions; once for subjects to describe themselves at the most emotionally difficult period of their childhood or adolescence and once to describe their "ideal" child/adolescent patient. It was predicted that there would be a significantly greater degree of narcissistic disturbance among the psychology group as compared with the nonpsychology group. Additionally, it was hypothesized that psychology graduate students with a high degree of narcissistic disturbance would have ideal patient descriptions resembling their self-descriptions. Results indicated no significant differences between the psychology and nonpsychology groups on the OMNI. Instead, the best predictor of narcissistic disturbance was age. Specifically, as age increased, subjects' degree of narcissistic disturbance decreased. There was no overall correlation between the psychology group's ideal and self-descriptions on the CBCL. However, on the Aggression subscale of the CBCL, individuals who scored high on the OMNI had significant correlations between self and ideal patient descriptions. There was also a significant correlation shown between self and ideal patient descriptions on the Anxiety/Depression subscale, though this association was unrelated to OMNI scores. On three of the CBCL subscales, including Attention Problems, Delinquency, and Externalizing Tendencies, psychology subjects with more clinical experience showed significant correlations between self and ideal patient descriptions. These findings were discussed in light of Miller and other relevant theorists. Also included were implications for treatment, limitations of the study, and recommendations for future research.