I haven’t heard of this being looked into specifically, but IMO there could certainly be a plausible connection.
Adults exposed to lead as children have less brain volume in the prefrontal cortex and several other areas. It’s definitely not impossible that this could kickstart maladaptive cognitive patterns such as narcissism.
I found the following, from a WHO page about lead poisoning [1], particularly interesting:
“IHME also estimated that in 2019, lead exposure accounted for 62.5% of the global burden of developmental intellectual disability whose cause is not obvious.”
The connection of lead poisoning and narcissism does seem plausible.
It's also worth noting that, broadly speaking, the parents of Boomers (depending on their age) went through 1 or 2 world wars, the great depression, the spanish flu, etc. and probably didn't come out unscathed. The trauma of the parents is bound to have ripple effects on the mental health of the kids.
There's more than a few stories of dads who went off to war and came back silent, drinking, and traumatized.
Adults exposed to lead as children have less brain volume in the prefrontal cortex and several other areas. It’s definitely not impossible that this could kickstart maladaptive cognitive patterns such as narcissism.
I found the following, from a WHO page about lead poisoning [1], particularly interesting:
“IHME also estimated that in 2019, lead exposure accounted for 62.5% of the global burden of developmental intellectual disability whose cause is not obvious.”
[1] https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poi...