Think you're a special person? Determined to live your life any way you want? Convinced the world would be a better place if you were in charge?

A study released last week shows that the current generation of college students are answering "yes" to these and other similar questions more frequently than their predecessors, making this generation the most narcissistic on record.

Between 1982 and 2006, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) compiled the responses of 16,475 college students across the country to questions designed to gauge their levels of narcissism.

Jean Twenge, lead author of the study, said today's college students -- part of what she has dubbed "Generation Me" -- have become more self-absorbed by growing up in the "self-esteem movement" of the 1980s that encouraged children to believe that they were "special."

Twenge said online communities like youtube.com or myspace.com, which can make every detail of one's existence public, also encourage attention-seeking behavior. She also pointed to popular shows like the O.C. and Dawson's Creek, which she said were filled with references to the self.

Twenge's book, "Generation Me: Why Today's Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled -- And More Miserable Than Ever Before," examines the negative effects narcissism can have on building personal relationships.

A rise in narcissism may cause today's college students to favor short-term hook-ups as opposed to long-term relationships, she said.

Twenge said short-term basis narcissism may not have noticeable adverse effects for an individual. However, it could cause long-term damage because narcissism tends to create unrealistic expectations for oneself, and when people fail to achieve their goals, it can lead to disappointment.

Twenge said it's still possible for this generation of college students to be a memorable one despite being characterized with self-centered attitudes.

"I think it's possible for this generation to make a difference, and it might be more dictated by historical events," she said.

Aaron Pincus, Penn State associate psychology professor who specializes in the clinical study of narcissistic personalities, said he is familiar with both the study's investigators and the NPI.

"I have no doubt that what they're telling us -- that the average score has gone up -- is true," Pincus said. "The question is, what does that mean?"

Pincus said there is a lot of research using the NPI that suggests people with high scores on the test have a strong correlation with self-centered, self-aggrandizing and manipulative behavior, and can be prone to aggression and dominance. The study best measures entitled and exploitative attitudes, he said.

Despite these negative pathological tendencies, Pincus said individuals with healthier narcissistic traits, which may be mixed in with the results, are interested in leadership roles, are comfortable with authority and are self-sufficient rather than dependent.

As a Penn State professor for the last 15 years, Pincus said he has seen a greater sense of entitlement in his students in situations such as when students are late turning in assignments and then expect professors to be accommodating.

Amanda Schaffer (freshman-meteorology) and Jonathan Stevenson (freshman-political science) shared two different first-year impressions of narcissism at the collegiate level.

"I completely agree [with the study]," Schaffer said. "You come to a society where everyone is out for success for themselves, not for anyone else."

However, Stevenson said he doesn't think the current generation is more narcissistic from generations past.

"There might be a higher number of kids who are, but I think the vast majority of the population hasn't changed," he said.