Narcissism and Childhood Recollections: A Quantitative Test of Psychoanalytic Predictions
Open accessAbstract
Different psychotherapeutic theories provide contradictory accounts of adult narcissism as the product of either parental coldness or excessive parental admiration during childhood. Yet, none of these theories has been tested systematically in a nonclinical sample. The authors compared four structural equation models predicting overt and covert narcissism among 120 United Kingdom adults. Both forms of narcissism were predicted by both recollections of parental coldness and recollections of excessive parental admiration. Moreover, a suppression relationship was detected between these predictors: The effects of each were stronger when modeled together than separately. These effects were found after controlling for working models of attachment; covert narcissism was predicted also by attachment anxiety. This combination of childhood experiences may help to explain the paradoxical combination of grandiosity and fragility in adult narcissism.
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When children lose status, parents may become cold or even hostile toward them.
“but when children lose status, parents may become cold (Otway & Vignoles, 2006) or even hostile toward them (Wetzel & Robins, 2016).”
From The "Why" and "How" of Narcissism: A Process Model of Narcissistic Status Pursuit (2020) · cites this paper as Otway & Vignoles, 2006
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- Authors
- Otway, L. J., & Vignoles, V. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Sussex (GB)
- ORCID
- Vignoles, Vivian L.
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2006-01
- Volume
- 32
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 104-116
- ISSN
- 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7433
- OpenAlex
- W2110279405
- Cited by
- 226
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 7.35
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Locations
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Disorders and Psychopathology
- Keywords
- grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, childhood memories, attachment theory, attachment anxiety, grandiosity, fragility, psychoanalytic theory, structural equation modeling
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Child, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Narcissism, Object Attachment, Psychoanalytic Interpretation, Psychoanalytic Theory, Mental Recall, Self Concept
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