Amy Palumbo

Date

5-2-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Narcissism development in children has been a widely studied subject; however, little research has examined parental narcissism. There have been two specific studies that have researched narcissism in parents. Within these studies it was found that parental and child bonds are not ideal, which usually results in parents having low senses of well-being and satisfaction with their bond (Hart, 2017; Horton, 2021). For each of our studies, we explored how aspects of an individual’s growth and development are linked with parental narcissism. In Study 1, we investigated the link between both grandiose and vulnerable parental narcissism and the mental well-being and self-esteem of our participants. In this study, we found that vulnerable narcissism was linked to lower rates of self-esteem and well-being, while grandiose narcissism was not correlated with either. In Study 2, we examined the parenting styles of the narcissistic parent, where we discovered that both subtypes were linked to maladaptive parenting styles known as rejection and overprotection. In our final study, we analyzed the attachment styles of the adult child and found that both parental narcissism subtypes were linked to avoidant and anxious attachment. Our studies identified the negative effects that both subtypes have on the development of the adult child, which ultimately suggested that vulnerable narcissism is the more substandard subtype.

Department

Psychology

Thesis Comittee

Dr. Ashley Hansen-Brown, Thesis Advisor
Dr. Nesa Wasarhaley, Committee Member
Dr. Melissa Brandon, Committee Member

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