There exists substantial debate about how to best assess
pathological narcissism with a variety of measures designed to assess grandiose and vulnerable narcissism, as well as the DSM-IV and DSM-5 based conceptualizations of
narcissistic personality disorder (
NPD). Wright and colleagues published correlations between several narcissism measures (Narcissistic Personality Inventory [NPI];
Pathological Narcissism Inventory [PNI]; Personality Diagnostic Questionnaire [
PDQ]
NPD) with the traits comprising the DSM-5 Section III personality trait model. In the current study, we examine the agreement manifested by Wright and colleagues' narcissism-DSM-5 trait profiles with expert ratings of the DSM-5 traits most relevant to descriptions of DSM-IV
NPD. Despite concerns regarding the NPI's ability to measure
pathological narcissism, its trait profile was strongly correlated with expert ratings, as was
PDQ NPD's profile. Conversely, the trait profiles associated with the PNI were primarily uncorrelated with the expert rated
NPD profile. The implications of these findings with regard to the assessment of narcissism are discussed.