Childhood maltreatment (CM) is thought to be linked to adult narcissistic traits. However, it remains unclear how CM is associated with each type of narcissism, vulnerable and grandiose, and what mechanism mediates these links. One potential candidate is dissociation. This study examines the relations among CM, dissociation, vulnerable narcissism, and grandiose narcissism. A total of 322 women completed self-reported questionnaires assessing CM, dissociation, vulnerable narcissism, and grandiose narcissism. To examine the relations among CM, dissociation, and each type of narcissism, we performed Pearson’s correlations and mediation analyses. In secondary analyses, we conducted latent class analyses to classify different types of CM and to assess their relations with the study variables. We found small to moderate correlations between CM and vulnerable narcissism, (r = .35, p < .001) and CM and grandiose narcissism (r = .2, p < .001), with the former association being greater than the latter (z = –3.25, p < .001). Dissociation was found to mediate the link between CM and each type of narcissism (p < .001). Results suggest that CM may play a role in the etiology of vulnerable and grandiose narcissism, and that dissociation links CM to each type of narcissism. Findings highlight that CM may lead to different responses in terms of narcissism—through the same mediation process.
AlexanderP. C. (2011). Childhood maltreatment, intimate partner violence, work interference and women’s employment. Journal of Family Violence, 26(4), 255–261. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-011-9361-9
2.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Author.
3.
BernetC. Z., & SteinM. B. (1999). Relationship of childhood maltreatment to the onset and course of major depression in adulthood. Depression and Anxiety, 9(4), 169–174.
BernsteinD. P., SteinJ. A., NewcombM. D., WalkerE., PoggeD., AhluvaliaT., StokesJ., HandelsmanL., MedranoM., DesmondD., & ZuleW. (2003). Development and validation of a brief screening version of the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Child Abuse and Neglect, 27(2), 169–190. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0145-2134(02)00541-0
6.
BernsteinE. M., & PutnamF. W. (1986). Development, reliability, and validity of a dissociation scale. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 174(12), 727–735. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-198612000-00004
7.
BlizardR. A. (1997). The origins of dissociative identity disorder from an object relations and attachment theory perspective. Dissociation, 10(4), 223–229.
8.
BrombergP. M. (1994). “Speak! That I may see you”: Some reflections on dissociation, reality, and psychoanalytic listening. Psychoanalytic Dialogues, 4(4), 517–547. https://doi.org/10.1080/10481889409539037
9.
CarlsonB. E., & PutnamF. W. (1993). An update on the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Dissociation, 6(1), 16–27.
10.
CeleuxG., & SoromenhoG. (1996). An entropy criterion for assessing the number of clusters in a mixture model. Journal of Classification, 13, 195–212. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01246098
11.
CharakR., & KootH. M. (2015). Severity of maltreatment and personality pathology in adolescents of Jammu, India: A latent class approach. Child Abuse and Neglect, 50, 56–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2015.05.010
12.
ChurchC., AndreassenO. A., LorentzenS., MelleI., & AasM. (2017). Childhood trauma and minimization/denial in people with and without a severe mental disorder. Frontiers in Psychology, 8(1276), 1–7.
13.
ClassenC., KoopmanC., & SpiegelD. (1993). Trauma and dissociation. Bulletin of the Menninger Clinic, 57(2), 178–194.
14.
DaneseA., & WidomC. S. (2020). Objective and subjective experiences of child maltreatment and their relationships with psychopathology. Nature Human Behavior, 4, 811–818. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-020-0880-3
15.
DubesterK. A., & BraunB. G. (1995). Psychometric properties of the dissociative experiences scale. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 183(4), 231–235. https://doi.org/10.1097/00005053-199504000-00008
16.
EnsinkK., ChretienS., NormandinL., BeginM., DaigleD., & FonagyP. (2018). Pathological narcissism in adolescents: Relationships with childhood maltreatment and internalizing and externalizing difficulties. Adolescent Psychiatry, 7(4), 300–314. https://doi.org/10.2174/2210676608666180119165731
17.
FerencziS. (2018). Confusion of the tongues between the adults and the child—The language of tenderness and of passion. Kairos, 24(2), 225–230.
FreydJ. J. (2008). Betrayal trauma. In ReyesG., ElhaiJ. D., & FordJ. D. (Eds.). The encyclopedia of psychological trauma (p. 76). John Wiley & Sons.
20.
FrischholtzE. J., BraunB. G., SachsR. G., HopkinsL., SchaefferD. M., LewisJ., LeavittF., PasquottoJ., & SchwartzD. R. (1990). The Dissociative Experiences Scale: Further replication and validation. Dissociation, 3(3), 151–153.
21.
FrostR., HylandP., ShevlinM., & MurphyJ. (2020). Distinguishing Complex PTSD from borderline personality disorder among individuals with a history of sexual trauma: A latent class analysis. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejtd.2018.08.004
22.
GilbertR., WidomC. S., BrowneK., FergussonD., WebbE., & JansonS. (2009). Burden and consequences of child maltreatment in high-income countries,The Lancet, 373(9657), 68–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61706-7
23.
GrijalvaE., NewmanD. A., TayL., DonnellanM. B., HarmsP. D., RobinsR. W., & YanT. (2015). Gender differences in narcissism: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 141(2), 261–310. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038231
HagenaarsM. A., FischI., & van MinnenA. (2011). The effect of trauma onset and frequency on PTSD-associated symptoms. Journal of Affective Disorders, 132, 192–199. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2011.02.017
26.
HayesA. F. (2012, November 10). PROCESS: A versatile computational tool for observed variable mediation, moderation, and conditional process modeling.http://www.afhayes.com/ public/process2012.pdf
27.
HowellE. F. (2003). Narcissism, a relational aspect of dissociation. Journal of Trauma and Dissociation, 4(3), 51–71. https://doi.org/10.1300/J229v04n03_04
28.
IfflandB., BrählerE., NeunerF., HaueserW., & GlaesmerA. (2013). Frequency of child maltreatment in a representative sample of the German population. BMC Public Health, 13, 980. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-980
29.
JohnsonJ. G., CohenP., BrownJ., SmailesE. M., & BernsteinD. P. (2013). Childhood maltreatment increases risk for personality disorders during early adulthood. The Science of Mental Health: Personality and Personality Disorder, 56(7), 600–606. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.56.7.600
KefeliM. C., TurowR. G., YlldlrlmA., & BoysanM. (2018). Childhood maltreatment is associated with attachment insecurities, dissociation and alexithymia in bipolar disorder. Psychiatry Research, 260, 391–399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2017.12.026
32.
KrusemarkE. A., CampbellW. K., CroweM. L., & MillerJ. D. (2018). Comparing self-report measures of grandiose narcissism, vulnerable narcissism, and narcissistic personality disorder in a male offender sample. Psychological Assessment, 30(7), 984–990. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000579
33.
LiM., D’ArcyC., & MengX. (2016). Maltreatment in childhood substantially increases the risk of adult depression and anxiety in prospective cohort studies: Systematic review, meta-analysis, and proportional attributable fractions. Psychological Medicine, 46(4), 717–730. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291715002743
34.
LobbestaelJ., ArntzA., & BernsteinD. P. (2010). Disentangling the relationship between different types of childhood maltreatment and personality disorders. Journal of Personality Disorders, 24(3), 285–295. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.2010.24.3.285
35.
LuntzB. K., & WidomC. S. (1994). Antisocial personality disorder in abused and neglected children grown up. American Journal of Psychiatry, 151(5), 670–674.
36.
MacDonaldK., ThomasM. L., SciollaA. F., SchneiderB., PappasK., BleijenbergG., BohusM., BekhB., CarpenterL., CarrA., DannlowskiU., DorahyM., FahlkeC., Finzi-DottanR., KaruT., GerdnerA., GlaesmerH., GrabeH. J., HeinsM., … WingenfeldK. (2016). Minimization of childhood maltreatment is common and consequential: Results from a large, multinational sample using the childhood trauma questionnaire. PLoS One, 11(1), e0146058. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146058
37.
Martinez-TorteyaC., DaytonC. J., BeeghlyM., SengJ. S., McGinnisE., BroderickA., RosenblumK., & MuzikM. (2014). Maternal parenting predicts infant biobehavioral regulation among women with a history of childhood maltreatment. Development and Psychopathology, 26(2), 379–392. https://doi.org/10.1017%2FS0954579414000017
38.
MorfC. C., & RhodewaltF. (2001). Expanding the dynamic self-regulatory processing model of narcissism: Research directions for the future. Psychological Inquiry, 12(4), 243–251. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146058
39.
MillerJ. D., DirA., GentileB., WilsonL., PryorL. R., & CampbellW. K. (2010). Searching for a vulnerable dark triad: Comparing factor 2 psychopathy, vulnerable narcissism, and borderline personality disorder. Journal of Personality, 78, 1529–1564. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6494.2010.00660.x
40.
NehrigN., HoS. S. M., & WongP. S. (2019). Understanding the self-object needs inventory: Its relationship to narcissism, attachment, and childhood maltreatment. Psychoanalytic Psychology, 31(1), 53–63. https://doi.org/10.1037/pap0000182
41.
NylundK. L., AsparouhovT., & MuthénB. O. (2007). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(4), 535–569. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705510701575396
42.
PincusA. L., AnsellE. B., PimentelC. A., CainN. M., WrightA. G. C., & LevyK. N. (2009). Initial Construction and Validation of the Pathological Narcissism Inventory. Psychological Assessment, 21(3), 365–379. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0016530
43.
PitbladoC. B., & SandersB. (1991). Reliability and short-term stability of scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale. In BraunB. G. & CarlsonE. B. (Eds.), Proceedings of the eight international conference on multiple personality and dissociative states (p. 179). Rush-Presbyterian.
44.
RossC. A., JoshiS., & CurrieR. (1990). Dissociative experiences in the general population. American Journal of Psychiatry, 147(11), 1547–1552. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.147.11.1547
45.
RossC. A., NortonG. R., & AndersonG. (1988). The Dissociative Experiences Scale: A replication study. Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders, 1(3), 21–22.
46.
RuggieroK. J., McLeerS. V., & DixonJ. F. (2000). Sexual abuse characteristics associated with survivor psychopathology. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24(7), 951–964.
47.
ScherC., FordeD. R., McQuaidJ. R., & SteinM. B. (2004). Prevalence and demographic correlates of childhood maltreatment in an adult community sample. Child Abuse and Neglect, 28(2), 167–180. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2003.09.012
48.
SchoenleberM., RocheM. J., WetzelE., PincusA. L., & RobertsB. W. (2015). Development of a brief version of the pathological narcissism inventory. Psychological Assessment, 27(4), 1520–1526. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000158
49.
ShinS. H., McDonaldS. E., & ConleyD. (2018). Patterns of adverse childhood experiences and substance use among young adults: A latent class analysis. Addictive Behaviors, 78, 187–192. https://doi.org/10.1016%2Fj.addbeh.2017.11.020
50.
StoltenborghM., Bakermans-KranenburgM. J., AlinkL. R. A., & van IjzendoornM. H. (2015). The prevalence of child maltreatment across the globe: Review of a series of meta-analyses. Child Abuse Review, 24(1), 37–50. https://doi.org/10.1002/car.2353
51.
TalmonA., & GinzburgK. (2018). The differential role of narcissism in the relations between childhood sexual abuse, dissociation, and self-harm. Journal of Interpersonal Violence.https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0886260518799450
52.
TalmonA., & GinzburgK. (2019). The intricate role of dissociation in the relations between childhood maltreatment, self-objectification, and narcissism. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 11(8), 909–918. https://doi.org/10.1037/tra0000452
53.
TerrL. C. (1991). Childhood traumas: An outline and overview. American Journal of Psychiatry, 148(1), 10–20. https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.148.1.10
54.
van BurenB., & MeehanK. (2015). Child Maltreatment and Vulnerable Narcissism: The Roles of Shame and Disavowed Need. Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association, 63(3), 555–561. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003065115593058.
55.
WaltersN. T., & HortonR. (2015). A diary study of the influence of Facebook use on narcissism among male college students. Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 326–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2015.05.054
56.
WarminghamJ. M., HandleyE. D., RogoschF. A., ManlyJ. T., & CicchettiD. (2019). Identifying maltreatment subgroups with patterns of maltreatment subtype and chronicity: A latent class analysis approach. Child Abuse & Neglect, 87, 28–39. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.08.013
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
