Initial Reliability of the Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism Adapted for Preadolescents: Parent Version (P-DIN).

Abstract

Introduction: the Diagnostic Interview for Narcissism, an instrument developed by Gunderson and associates to assess pathological narcissistic traits in adults, has been adapted for use with parents of preadolescents as a semi-structured interview. A sixth section has been added to assess the parental narcissistic investment of the child.

Methods: the sample consists of 21 parents of children (aged 8-13 years) at risk for narcissistic personality disorder. An interviewer-observer design, with independent interview evaluation, was used to assess inter-rater reliabilities. Both raters were blind to diagnostic information.

Results: Very good inter-rater reliabilities (ranging from .85 to 1.00) were obtained for all 35 statements of this Parent version of the DIN (P-DIN). Good internal consistencies a=0.82, a=0.88, a=0.69, respectively) were obtained for the first three Sections of the P-DIN, which include all the DSM-IV criteria for Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Section V, Social/Moral Adaptation (a=0.54), and Section VI, Parental Narcissistic Investment of the Child (a=0.62), had weaker internal consistencies. Section IV, Mood States, had the lowest internal consistency (a=0.50). Finally, a high reliability coefficient was obtained for the total scale (a=0.92, 32 statements for Sections I to V).

Conclusion: present results of this pilot study justify further research into the P-DIN psychometric properties.