ERIC Number: EJ1185154
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Aug
Pages: 22
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0272-4316
EISSN: N/A
Interactive Influences of Narcissism and Self-Esteem on Insecure Attachment in Early Adolescence
Menon, Meenakshi; Moyes, Harriet C. A.; Bradley, Christina M.
Journal of Early Adolescence, v38 n7 p966-987 Aug 2018
We hypothesized that in adolescence, maladaptive narcissism interacts with low self-esteem to predict a preoccupied attachment style ("attachment for self-affirmation hypothesis"), and with high self-esteem to predict an avoidant attachment style ("attachment for self-enhancement hypothesis"). We expected gender differences in narcissistic adolescents' attachment strategies, with girls more likely to be motivated to self-affirm, and boys more likely to self-enhance. Early adolescents in England (N = 306, 156 girls, 150 boys, X-bar age = 13.38 years) responded to self-report measures of narcissism, self-esteem, and attachment styles to mother and a friend. Results supported the attachment for self-enhancement hypothesis only. For adolescent boys (but not girls) with high self-esteem, narcissism was associated with higher avoidant attachment toward the mother and a friend. The results suggest that maladaptive narcissism might derail normative separation-individuation processes in adolescent boys, thus contributing to their adoption of an avoidant attachment style with close relationship partners.
Descriptors: Personality Problems, Self Esteem, Attachment Behavior, Correlation, Mothers, Parent Child Relationship, Friendship, Prediction, Gender Differences, Measurement Techniques, Early Adolescents, Interpersonal Relationship, Foreign Countries, Student Surveys, Regression (Statistics), Statistical Analysis
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom (England)
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A