Despite putative gender differences in the expression of narcissism, prominent theories have virtually dismissed the role of females in the development and manifestation of narcissism. The contention that narcissism is a pathology of the self that may partly differ in males and females is further evident in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). The DSM-5 reports that up to 75% of those diagnosed with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) are men. Such figures suggest that the representation of narcissism as codified in the DSM-5 may only be marginally applicable to females, given its prominent focus and nature on capturing grandiose themes which closely resemble commonly masculine norms. The overemphasis on grandiose features extends to the empirical literature which defines narcissism as a normative personality trait and is widely assessed using the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI), on which males obtain significantly higher scores than females. As this review will demonstrate, one limitation frequently occurring in the literature is the attempt to comprehend narcissistic manifestations in females through the lens of what has commonly been defined as narcissism (DSM/NPI). In this review, the literature concerning the diagnostic assessment and conceptualization of narcissistic personality disorder, etiological factors, aggression, and partner violence perpetration will be discussed in relation to the importance of gender. This is followed by a review of existing gaps in theory and research, and suggestions for fruitful directions that can aid a richer and more meaningful literature on narcissism inclusive of gender issues.

尽管自恋的表达存在假定的性别差异，但著名的理论实际上否认了女性在自恋的发展和表现中的作用。自恋是一种自我病理学，男性和女性可能部分不同，这一论点在《精神疾病诊断和统计手册》(DSM-5) 中得到了进一步证实。 DSM-5 报告称，被诊断患有自恋型人格障碍 (NPD) 的人中，高达 75% 是男性。这些数字表明，DSM-5 中对自恋的描述可能仅少量适用于女性，因为它的突出重点和本质是捕捉与常见男性规范非常相似的宏大主题。对浮夸特征的过分强调延伸到了实证文献，这些文献将自恋定义为一种规范的人格特质，并使用自恋人格量表（NPI）进行广泛评估，男性在该量表上的得分明显高于女性。正如本综述将证明的那样，文献中经常出现的一个局限性是试图通过通常定义为自恋（DSM/NPI）的视角来理解女性的自恋表现。在这篇综述中，将结合性别的重要性讨论有关自恋型人格障碍、病因、攻击性和伴侣暴力行为的诊断评估和概念化的文献。接下来是对理论和研究中现有差距的回顾，并提出了富有成效的方向的建议，这些方向可以帮助获得更丰富、更有意义的关于自恋（包括性别问题）的文献。