The nature of narcissism in people has been researched in detail, but there are still many gaps. One of these is the effect parents’ narcissism has on their children’s development. Wilson and Durbin (2012) explore how some parental personality disorders (including narcissism) affect parent-child interactions. It is stressed that parents’ narcissistic behaviors are often associated with a greater degree of control over children’s behavior (Wilson & Durbin, 2012).
At that, children seem to exhibit proper behavior and a significant degree of obedience. Dentale et al. (2015) note that parental (both paternal and maternal) narcissism contributes to the development of depression in children. The researchers focused on young adults and their memories and found that the samples developed depression and anxiety that persisted in adulthood.
The effects of parental narcissism on children’s development is an important issue within the human development terrain. It has been acknowledged that adolescents are vulnerable when it comes to developing depressive disorders, and it is crucial to understand all possible contributing factors (Kail & Cavanaugh, 2016). This stage of human development is shaped by the way individuals see themselves and their skills regarding the development of relationships with others. It is possible to state that this stage defines the way the person will develop in further stages.
Parental narcissism is one of the factors that can shape the further development of an individual. It affects children’s development at all stages of their life, but its impact is specifically potent during adolescence when individuals develop their self-esteem and patterns of behavior with others. During this period, people usually choose the path (academic goals, careers, and so on), which shapes their lives. Therefore, it is especially important to examine the ways parental narcissism affects adolescents with a focus on the development of depression and narcissistic behavior in adolescents.
It is possible to use a sequential explanatory mixed-method design to address the purpose of the study. This design enables the researcher to identify the existing correlation between parental narcissism and adolescents’ narcissism and depression. At that, qualitative tools cam help explain the existing correlation and consider adolescents’ perspectives. The independent variable will be the parental narcissism, and the dependent variables will be adolescents’ narcissism and depression. It can be hypothesized that the higher the level of narcissism in parents, the higher the level of narcissism and depression in adolescents.
Methodology
This research will include quantitative as well as qualitative instruments. It is possible to use the Narcissistic Personality Inventory (NPI) to obtain quantitative data and identify the level of narcissism in parents and their adolescent children. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) can be used to assess the level of depression in adolescents. These tools will be instrumental in identifying the correlation between parental narcissism and adolescents’ narcissism and depressive behaviors. Adolescents and their parents can be recruited at local schools. The sample will include 500 parents and 300 adolescents. One-parent and two-parent families will be eligible for this study. The socio-economic status of the family and academic achievement of adolescents will not be taken into account.
Qualitative data can help understand the reasons behind adolescents’ behaviors. Thus, ten adolescents can be interviewed to examine their perspectives. During the interviews, the researcher will ask questions concerning parental control and adolescents’ attitude towards it, affection and ways to express it used by parents and children, self-esteem and the adolescents’ views of their place in the world (community, family), as well as relationships with parents, adults, and peers. The eligible adolescents for the interviews will be individuals whose parents exhibit narcissistic behaviors. The level of depression and narcissism in adolescents will be less relevant at this stage.
Timeframe
The focus of the research is on the development of adolescents and the way they are affected by their parents’ narcissism. Therefore, the cross-sectional research study will be implemented. It is essential to identify the level of narcissism and depression and adolescents’ ideas at a particular moment rather than trace the way adolescents evolve.
Conclusion
The study will focus on adolescents’ development as this stage of life is associated with depressive behaviors that may have a detrimental effect on the further development of an individual. The study will look into one of the factors contributing to the occurrence of depression in adolescents. The study will explore the extent to which parental narcissism contributes to the development of depression and narcissism in adolescents.
The researcher will use the NPI and BDI to assess the level of narcissism and depression. It is also essential to understand adolescents’ motives and perspectives as regards their parents’ behavior. Therefore, a mixed research method should be employed. The cross-sectional correlational design will be used to obtain quantitative data, while the interview will be the method used to collect qualitative data. This approach is chosen due to its comprehensiveness and convenience, as it is comparatively easy to implement.
Reference List
Dentale, F., Verrastro, V., Petruccelli, I., Diotaiuti, P., Petruccelli, F., Cappelli, L., & San Martini, P. (2015). Relationship between parental narcissism and children’s mental vulnerability: Mediation role of rearing style. International Journal of Psychology and Psychological Therapy, 15(3), 337-347.
Kail, R.V., & Cavanaugh, J.C. (2016). Essentials of human development: A life-span view. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Wilson, S., & Durbin, C.E. (2012). Parental personality disorder symptoms are associated with dysfunctional parent-child interactions during early childhood: A multilevel modeling analysis. Personality Disorders: Theory, research, and Treatment, 3(1), 55-65.