Narcissism and Romantic Relationship Functioning: The Mediating Roles of Coercive and Collaborative Theories of Power

MRI recently awarded $25,000 to support Dr. Virgil Zeigler-Hill’ s project titled “Narcissism and Romantic Relationship Functioning: The Mediating Roles of Coercive and Collaborative Theories of Power.” Dr. Zeigler-Hill is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychology at Oakland University in Michigan. The goal of this research was to gain a better understanding of how individuals with narcissistic personality features perceive and respond to issues surrounding power dynamics in their romantic relationships.

The purpose of this research was to extend what is known about the role that the desire for power plays in the connections between narcissistic personality traits and indicators of romantic relationship functioning (e.g., relationship satisfaction, commitment). More specifically, this research examined whether the desire for power mediated these associations across two studies. Study 1 focused on a monadic sample (N = 623) of community members who were currently involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship for at least three months. As anticipated, antagonistic narcissism (which involves a disposition marked by hostility, defensiveness, and a confrontational attitude toward others) exhibited a negative indirect association with romantic relationship functioning through the desire for power. This suggests that antagonistic narcissism may foster a desire for power within romantic relationships, which, in turn, could be detrimental to the overall functioning of these relationships. Furthermore, extraverted narcissism (which is characterized by a strong inclination toward self-promotion and a desire to be the center of attention) was found to have a positive indirect association with romantic relationship functioning through the desire for power, whereas communal narcissism (which refers to the amplification of cooperative attributes in order to enhance one’s image and highlight one’s superiority over others) exhibited a negative indirect association with romantic relationship functioning through the same mediator.

Study 2 focused on the same basic issue but used a dyadic sample (N = 350 [175 romantic couples]) of community members who were currently involved in a heterosexual romantic relationship for at least three months. By analyzing these romantic couples, Dr. Zeigler-Hill was able to investigate not only the associations within individuals (actor associations) but also the connections that one partner’s narcissistic personality traits had with the desire for power and romantic relationship functioning of their significant other (partner associations). That is, the use of dyadic data allowed Dr. Zeigler-Hill to examine how one individual’s narcissistic personality traits were connected with their own desire for power and romantic relationship functioning as well as the desire for power and romantic relationship functioning reported by their partner. The results of Study 2 revealed that the desire for power mediated the association that antagonistic narcissism had with the functioning of romantic relationships for both individuals within heterosexual couples. Similar to the results observed in Study 1, this pattern indicates that antagonistic narcissism may cultivate a yearning for power within romantic partnerships, which ultimately exerts a detrimental influence on the overall well-being of these relationships. However, the dyadic results of Study 2 extend those observed in Study 1 by revealing that the antagonistic narcissism of one member of the couple had indirect associations with the romantic relationship functioning experienced by both members of the couple. This pattern was especially prominent for women because the connections between their levels of antagonistic narcissism and the romantic relationship functioning of themselves and their male partners were mediated by their own desire for power and the desire for power of their male partners. In other words, women with elevated levels of antagonistic narcissism wanted more power in their romantic relationships, which, in turn, was associated with lower levels of romantic relationship functioning for themselves and their male partners. However, when examining women with high levels of antagonistic narcissism, it was observed that this trait was linked to a heightened desire for power in their male partners. This increased desire for power, in turn, was associated with lower levels of romantic relationship functioning for both men and women involved in the relationship. In contrast, male antagonistic narcissism was negatively associated with romantic relationship functioning for themselves and their female partners. However, this association between antagonistic narcissism and romantic relationship functioning was only mediated by the desire for power in men. That is, male antagonistic narcissism was not connected with an increase in the desire for power for their female partners.

Taken together, the results of these studies showed that antagonistic narcissism had negative indirect associations with romantic relationship functioning through the desire for power for individuals as well as their romantic partners. This suggests that the desire for power may provide insights into the poor quality that often characterizes the romantic relationships of those with elevated levels of antagonistic narcissism.