Hello everybody!
Can pathological narcissism give rise to criminal behavior? How can a psychologist help a narcissistic individual that can harm a member of the community? Also, how can pathological narcissism be used as a defense in the court of law?
Yes, Pathological narcissism can lead to crime. According to the study done by University of Georgia: Pathological narrcists likely to commit crimes like assault, and rape.
Psychologists can help them by psychotherapy but it is hard to do because of their huge Superior complex.
First, it is better to understand the difference between Pathological Narcissism and Narcissistic Personality Disorder. Check this video out:
I suggest you to read this article I uploaded below, about whether narcissism or criminality is associated with aggression in women. There is statistical evidence.
My opinion on your question is, it would be wrong to evaluate narcissists as criminals, but the fact there is a mental disorder, means there is a vulnerability for something. And people tend to get violent if this vulnerability is very deep. Narcissists have the vulnerability in their self image. Someone who is 'able' to damage this self image or make the narcissist feel like s/he is threatened, in intense situations this may result in a crime in a small but existent possibility.
I don't think so. Narcissists appear as very nice, charming people to everyone else except their victims. They're also calculated and I believe they're always in control and know exactly what they're doing. On the other hand, narcissistic disorder combined with other mental disorders could probably increase the chances of criminal behavior.