Maternal narcissism and child maladjustment: a dyadic study

Abstract The goal of the present study was to examine the association between a mother’s narcissistic traits (grandiose or vulnerable) and her child maladjustment, while exploring the possible mediating role of the mother’s parenting style (i.e., accepting or rejecting) and her perception of the child as difficult. Results from a three-step regression model using a sample of 252 mother-child dyads indicated that only mother’s vulnerable narcissism, but not grandiose narcissism, was significantly associated with child maladjustment. This association, however, was mediated by mother’s perception of her child as difficult, suggesting an intricate interplay between mothers’ personality traits and children’s psychological characteristics. In addition, rejecting parenting did not significantly mediate the association between maternal vulnerable narcissism and child maladjustment but rather, also seemed to be by itself mediated by mother’s perception of her child as difficult, calling for further consideration of mechanisms that may underlie the long documented direct association between parenting behaviors and child outcomes. Theoretically, our findings imply that previous assumptions about direct influences of parenting styles on child outcomes may be explained by underlying mechanisms, such as a mother’s perception of her child. Clinically, our findings have implications for developing interventions aimed at improving child well-being, particularly in families where maternal vulnerable narcissism exists, by focusing on maternal perceptions and providing emotional support.