Millennials Feel Less Entitled than Older Generations

A study in the journal Psychological Science finds that young adults who come of age during recessions are much less narcissistic than those who come of age during economic boom times. Here's how Science News (June 28, 2014), which reported on the study, explains it: "Narcissists view themselves as superior in all situations, feel entitled to special treatment and expect to always succeed and be admired and praised."

Know anyone with those characteristics? If so, their self-satisfaction could be a consequence of when they came of age (were in the 18 to 25 age group). The most narcissistic cohorts came of age in the early 1950s, mid-1960s, or mid-1990s—all times when the unemployment rate was relatively low, jobs were plentiful, and the living was easy. In contrast, today's young adults—the Millennial generation came of age during the Great Recession, when unemployment was sky high, jobs were scarce, and life was a struggle. Today's young adults feel less entitled, a feeling that may last a lifetime. "Hard economic times deflate young adults' self-regard for many decades," reports Science News.