People with Narcissistic Personality Disorder tend to be extremely self-centered, lack empathy for others, and have a grandiose sense of self. They also tend to have very fragile egos, which makes them highly defensive when they feel criticized or slighted in any way.
This combination of traits often leads to some serious problems in interpersonal relationships and professional settings.
Are narcissists born or made? It is necessary to know because it helps us deal with a Narcissist.
- Narcissism is a learned behavior in some cases.
- Narcissism can be transferred in generations, so sometimes, it can be an inherited behavior.
- Child abuse can also create Narcissists. Abuse can convert an average child into a Covert Narcissist.
I will discuss these three causes and build arguments for these suppositions.
Narcissism is a learned behavior in some cases.
Elinor Greenberg Ph.D.((Physologytoday)) explained this in psychology today in her article, “How a Child Can Become a Narcissist((Psychologytoday.com)),” She writes:
“Narcissistic Personality Disorders are a byproduct of certain childhood family environments. All children want their parents’ approval and attention. Children adapt to their homes, and often the most productive and reasonable adaptation to some home situations is to become a Narcissist.”
Parenting plays a vital role in this case. It is particularly prevalent with children who have parents who are Covert Narcissist.
It is common where the parents are covert Narcissists — the mothers with Narcissistic personality disorder implant narcissism in their children without realizing it.
We all know these children copy or admire their parents as the first example of what they should be doing.
In this way, kids learn narcissistic behaviour from their parents. They know masking their faces, lies, and manipulation from their homes. As a result, they learn to blame shift tendencies and do not take responsibility for situations.
They learn to play victim games. They were taught to hold grudges and not forget.
In the case of codependency, kids rely badly on others for validation — they look to seek guidance on how they should be as individuals. Kids growing up in a codependent environment will do anything to please their parents.
Narcissist parents>> grow up Narcissist kids without knowing it>>and if it goes unchecked>>they turn into adult Narcissists.
This cycle repeats itself.
Inherited Narcissism/Generational Narcissism.
In a 2014 study by the Trusted Source((NCBI)) that involved 304 pairs of twins, researchers discovered that certain NPD traits were a little heritable.
Generational curses may occur over some time or do not affect every descendant. If a narcissist is a parent to three children, at the very most, one of them will be a narcissist.
The demons never end and are always looking for a home, and it’s much easier for them to remain in an environment where they’ve already achieved success. So, therefore, for some of the people out there, I think they’re born as narcissists.
Parents with Narcissist tendencies>>transfer them into generations.
Child abuse can create Narcissists.
- Research published in 2015 and published in the Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association((American Psychoanalytic Association)) explained, “Childhood abuse increases the risk of vulnerable narcissism by damaging the self and amplifying shame.”
The researchers explained:
“When needs are unmet, the infant is left with impaired abilities to regulate self-esteem and may defensively avoid and disavow them. The end result of disavowed needs may therefore be the phenomenon now known as narcissistic vulnerability.”
Children who are victimized become narcissists, not all, but a lot do! But, of course, I am talking about emotional neglect.
Childhood Emotional Neglect is when your parents don’t react appropriately to your emotions and emotional needs. This gives you, the child, an unintentional message that says, “Your feelings don’t matter.”
Children who get this message can push their emotions away, effectively shutting them down to not be influenced by them.
Narcissistic parents are an important reason for children’s emotional neglect. Narcissistic parents cannot recognize the true nature of their children and how they react to their children emotionally.
They try to make sure their own needs are fulfilled and cannot be emotionally supportive to anyone, which is not just their children. Therefore, children with narcissistic fathers are often left unanswered with their emotional needs.
Bottom Line
In the end, it’s worth noting that narcissists are not created by their parents or any other authority figure. Instead, narcissism results from a combination of three factors: genes, environment, and parenting style.
There is no way to prevent children who have narcissistic characteristics from developing into full-blown narcissists. But you can help them learn to control their behaviour and develop empathy for others by being a consistent, positive role model.