engleski

Attachment styles and narcissistic traits in relationships: What a difference they make?

Attachment styles that are formed in the childhood are influenced by several factors, including the temperament and the quality of the relationship with the primary caregivers, that can also enhance the development of certain traits. Moreover, these factors can have the important impact on the different kinds of relationships one forms in the adulthood. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the relations between the attachment styles, different forms of narcissism and satisfaction with different kinds of close relationships: with partner, friends and parents. Within a larger study, a total of 307 university students (50 male, 257 female, age M = 21.57, SD = 2.90) completed an online questionnaire which included the modified Experiences in Close Relationships Inventory (Kamenov & Jelić, 2003) and Pathological Narcissism Inventory (Pincus et al., 2009), while the satisfaction with close relationships was assessed with an item form the International Wellbeing Index (Cummins, 2002). The results of the hierarchical regression analyses showed that, in the relationship with parents, neither attachment styles, nor narcissism had any impact on the satisfaction with close relationships. On the other hand, the attachment style predicted 8.3% of the variance of the satisfaction with close relationships when assessing the relationship with partner, with the attachment anxiety being the only significant negative predictor. Finally, when it comes to the satisfaction with close relationships with friends, the attachment styles explained unique 6.1% of the variance (with the only significant negative contribution of the attachment avoidance), while vulnerable narcissism explained additional 7.5% of the variance above and beyond the attachment styles. These results highlight the importance of distinguishing between different types of interpersonal relations when examining the impacts of narcissistic traits and attachment styles in these relations.

attachment styles; inerpersonal relationships; grandiose narcissism; vulnerable narcissism

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