Narcissism can have far-reaching effects on children raised in that environment. Participating in therapy may help families cope and repair those relationships.
Narcissism involves a personality disorder or traits that can affect someone’s self-image and how they interact with and treat others.
Narcissistic parents are parents whose narcissistic traits or narcissistic personality disorder can affect how they parent their children. Children of narcissistic parents may often have mental health effects from this treatment, even into adulthood.
This article takes a deeper dive into some of the common traits of narcissistic parents, the effects narcissistic parenting may have on children, and some coping skills for healing.
Narcissism may present as an overinflated image of oneself and an inclination to use manipulation tactics for personal gain. People with narcissistic traits may often have low empathy and appear selfish yet hypersensitive and overly dependent on others.
Narcissism can appear in parents as personality traits or symptoms of a mental health condition called narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). When a parent has NPD, their behaviors can significantly affect their children’s mental health.
While no one example exists of a narcissistic parent, some
- living vicariously through their child and treating their child as an extension of themselves
- withholding love, compassion, empathy, or understanding from their children or family members
- becoming extremely jealous and possessive when a child’s interest or attention is elsewhere
- using bullying techniques to maintain control, like teasing, criticizing, manipulating, and gaslighting
- being emotionally inflexible and reactive while not allowing their child to display their emotions
- refusing to place boundaries or respect any boundaries that their child creates for them
- blaming their children or family members when things go wrong and refusing to take…
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