Relationships between childhood maltreatment, attachment security, and features of narcissism: A network analysis

Childhood maltreatment and insecure attachment are associated with narcissism during adulthood. However, it is unclear how different types of maltreatment exert effects on specific features of narcissism and whether attachment security serves as a link between maltreatment and such features. We used network analyses to investigate the structure of narcissism and the complex interplay between different types of maltreatment, attachment security, and features of narcissism. A total of 718 participants were included in this study. The results revealed that (1) entitlement rage and contingent self-esteem were the most central features in the vulnerable narcissistic community, and leadership/authority was the most central feature in the grandiose narcissistic community; (2) childhood maltreatment was positively associated with features of vulnerable narcissism, whereas it had no or at most a weak negative correlation with features of grandiose narcissism, suggesting a different etiology for the two forms of narcissism; (3) emotional maltreatment had stronger associations with features of vulnerable narcissism compared with other types of maltreatment; and (4) attachment security served as a bridge node between emotional maltreatment and features of narcissism. Our findings suggest that therapists need to attend to maltreatment experienced by and the attachment security of individuals with vulnerable narcissism.