Parental pathological narcissism and child depression: the indirect effects of child attachment and perspective taking

Parental factors, including pathological narcissism, a maladaptive form of personality style which is characterized by pronounced interpersonal problems, may confer vulnerability to children’s experiences of depression. However, the mechanisms underlying this risk remain largely unexplored. Our longitudinal study assessed whether parent pathological narcissism is associated with childhood depression 1 year later and whether this association is influenced by child attachment and perspective taking. In 59 parent-child dyads, parents reported levels of pathological narcissism, and children reported their levels of depression, attachment and social perspective taking at baseline and 1 year later. Parent pathological narcissism was positively associated with later child depression, anxious and avoidant attachment, and perspective taking. Additionally, parental pathological narcissism had a direct effect on later child depression and an indirect effect through child anxious attachment while controlling for earlier child depression. The association between parent pathological narcissism, and child depression appears to operate through children’s anxious attachment, highlighting a potential mechanism of intergenerational transmission of psychological risk.