Subscribe
The latest psychology and neuroscience discoveries.
My Account
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychopharmacology
No Result
View All Result
PsyPost
PsyPost
No Result
View All Result
Home Exclusive Mental Health

The link between narcissism and intimate partner violence manifests itself differently in women and men

by Eric W. Dolan
July 30, 2020 - Updated on February 15, 2021
in Mental Health, Social Psychology

Enhance your understanding of the human mind and mental health trends by following PsyPost on MSN.
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

New research has uncovered important differences in how narcissism presents itself in women and men, and how these differences are related to intimate partner violence. The findings indicate that a less recognized manifestation of narcissism — known as vulnerable narcissism — is associated with the perpetration of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse among women.

The study has been published in Personality and Individual Differences.

“We were interested in this topic because narcissism in females is poorly understood due to an overreliance on grandiose features of narcissism indicative of males in the literature,” said Ava Green, a lecturer in forensic psychology at City University of London and lead author of the new study.

“Grandiose features of narcissism resemble stereotypically masculine expressions including an inflated self-esteem, physical expressions of aggression, entitlement, excessive need for power, and an authoritarian character style.”

“However, although females are less likely to endorse stereotypically masculine features of narcissism, they tend to align towards vulnerable features of narcissism. Vulnerable traits resemble more feminine expressions, including overt shyness, neuroticism, shame, hypersensitivity, and low self-esteem,” Green explained.

“Maladaptive features of narcissism, such as exploitation, entitlement and lack of empathy play a prominent role in partner violence perpetration. However, the bulk of research has predominantly associated (grandiose) narcissism with men’s perpetration of partner violence behaviors. The aim of our study was therefore to enhance theoretical knowledge regarding narcissistic females as perpetrators of intimate partner violence.”

For their research, Green and her colleagues had 152 men and 176 women complete an assessment of pathological narcissism. The participants also completed surveys regarding intimate partner violence and emotional abuse.

“In our study, we explored gender differences in narcissism using an inventory that captures both grandiosity and vulnerability, and we investigated the extent to which these manifestations predicted partner violence perpetration in intimate relationships,” Green said.

They found that women exhibited significantly higher scores on the vulnerable narcissism scale than male participants.

Green and her colleagues also found that grandiose narcissism predicted men’s perpetration of emotional abuse, while vulnerable narcissism predicted men’s perpetration of physical/sexual abuse. Among female participants, however, only vulnerable narcissism predicted perpetration of both physical/sexual and emotional abuse of a partner.

In other words, women who agreed with statements such as “When others don’t notice me, I start to feel worthless” were more likely to report behaviors such as shoving or hitting their partner, destroying something belonging to their partner, or verbally denigrating their partner.

“The takeaway message from this study is that narcissism manifest itself differently in males and females, and these differences were related to different partner violence outcomes. Whereas both grandiose and vulnerable narcissism predicted partner violence outcomes in males, only vulnerable narcissism predicted physical/sexual and psychological abuse in females,” Green told PsyPost.

“These gender differences provide implications for how narcissism has been traditionally conceptualized and assessed in the literature. Our findings suggest narcissism in females is expressed in more hidden and subtle ways (e.g., devaluing, hiding behind the self) which may not be recognized as stereotypically ‘narcissistic’ when exploiting intimate partners.”

“Our findings are in line with previous theorizations suggesting that narcissistic females may use more discreet and indirect ways to obtain their self-worth. In other words, whereas grandiose features of narcissism may create an acceptable norm about men being more entitled and exploitative, the same pattern in females may be perceived as unconventional and thereby conceptualized as being beyond what is considered socially normative. These theorizations may be an explanation as to why vulnerable narcissism, and not grandiose narcissism, was a significant predictor in females’ perpetration of abuse,” Green explained.

“Narcissism in females moves beyond the masculine stereotype commonly conceptualized in theory, research, and vernacular language. Assessing narcissism through the lens of grandiosity may not accurately capture narcissism in females and the harmful impact they have in intimate relationships. It is important to recognize this personality trait as more complex and multi-layered; a construct that is deeply ingrained in cultural norms associated with masculinity and femininity.”

But the study — like all research — includes some limitations.

“One major caveat is that our research findings are limited as other-partner data were not collected. This may be particularly concerning due to the existing literature which finds a modest degree of homophily: the idea that narcissistic individuals seek partners with similar characteristics,” Green said.

“What these findings mean is that the aggressive behavior perpetrated by narcissistic individuals may, to an extent, be due to the narcissism of their partner. Future research may benefit from investigating narcissism and gender within the context of dyadic relationships.”

The study, “Unmasking gender differences in narcissism within intimate partner violence“, was authored by Ava Green, Rory MacLean, and Kathy Charles.

ShareTweetSendScanShareSharePin2Send

Thanks for reading! Click here to support PsyPost by becoming a paid subscriber. In an age where information is abundant but quality knowledge is scarce, PsyPost ensures that you stay updated on the most recent and relevant discoveries made in psychology and neuroscience.

STAY CONNECTED

TRENDING

New neuroscience research upends traditional theories of early language learning in babies

Female cat and dog owners tend to be slightly more involved with their families, potentially leading to better well-being, study finds

Autism and stress: A pivotal study highlights unique emotional challenges

Income boosts self-esteem more than vice versa, new study reveals

New study on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sheds light on public attitudes towards interracial relationships

Scientists raise the alarm about the growing trend of “soft” censorship of research

RECENT

New psychology research links the tendency to feel victimized to support for political violence

Prenatal exposure to air pollution may disrupt cognitive development of children, study finds

Neurobiological similarity and empathy both play crucial roles in interpersonal communication, study finds

New neuroscience research upends traditional theories of early language learning in babies

Liberal media outlets display a higher aversion to artificial intelligence than conservative media, study finds

Birth control pills and depression: Large study reveals new insights

Income boosts self-esteem more than vice versa, new study reveals

Autism and stress: A pivotal study highlights unique emotional challenges

  • Cognitive Science
  • COVID-19
  • Mental Health
  • Social Psychology
  • Drug Research
  • Conspiracy Theories
  • Meditation
  • Psychology of Religion
  • Aviation Psychology and Human Factors
  • Relationships and Sexual Health
  • Evolutionary Psychology
  • Neuroimaging
  • Psychedelic Drugs
  • Dark Triad
  • Political Psychology
  • Contact us
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy policy
  • Terms and Conditions
Subscribe
  • My Account
  • Cognitive Science Research
  • Mental Health Research
  • Social Psychology Research
  • Drug Research
  • Relationship Research
  • About PsyPost
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Add New Playlist

Manage your privacy
To provide the best experiences, we use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us to process data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.
Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}
Manage your privacy

To provide the best experiences, we and our partners use technologies like cookies to store and/or access device information. Consenting to these technologies will allow us and our partners to process personal data such as browsing behavior or unique IDs on this site and show (non-) personalized ads. Not consenting or withdrawing consent, may adversely affect certain features and functions.

Click below to consent to the above or make granular choices. Your choices will be applied to this site only. You can change your settings at any time, including withdrawing your consent, by using the toggles on the Cookie Policy, or by clicking on the manage consent button at the bottom of the screen.

Functional Always active
The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
Preferences
The technical storage or access is necessary for the legitimate purpose of storing preferences that are not requested by the subscriber or user.
Statistics
The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for statistical purposes. The technical storage or access that is used exclusively for anonymous statistical purposes. Without a subpoena, voluntary compliance on the part of your Internet Service Provider, or additional records from a third party, information stored or retrieved for this purpose alone cannot usually be used to identify you.
Marketing
The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes.
Statistics

Marketing

Features
Always active

Always active
Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor_count} vendors Read more about these purposes
Manage options
{title} {title} {title}