Annual of social work, Vol. 24 No. 1, 2017.
Professional paper
https://doi.org/10.3935/ljsr.v24i1.53
NARCISSISTIC VULNERABILITY AND DIVORCE
Maja Ernečić
; Social Welfare Center Koprivnica, Koprivnica, Croatia
Sonja Patričević
; Social Welfare Center Koprivnica, Koprivnica, Croatia
Abstract
Personality traits define the characteristic and consistent behaviour of individuals, as well as how they react in stressful situations. It is widely accepted that divorce is one of the most stressful events in the life of an individual. The ability of an individual to adapt depends, among other things, on the presence of narcissistic personality traits. Narcissistic vulnerability is a defence mechanism that is activated in situations of intense stress caused by divorce. Even though it is not synonymous to the clinical diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder, depending on how much self-esteem an individual has lost and the difficulties experienced during recovery, it can develop into pathological narcissism. Narcissistic vulnerability defines the way in which an individual will react to the loss of self-esteem and to what extent it will be threatening for that individual. Over time, most people will solve self-esteem issues and recover. Unlike the majority, having experienced a setback, individuals that are narcissistically more vulnerable will have difficulties recovering and preserving their self-esteem. Self-esteem issues can last for a long time with the same intensity, and the person can develop a narcissistic personality disorder. High-conflict divorce is increasingly becoming the focus of interest of experts, as well as the general public. A number of studies deal with the psychological impacts of conflicts on children, the manipulative behaviours of parents, and difficulties of raising children after divorce. Parents’ personality in these areas is recognized as important, yet its influence is insufficiently explained. This paper is one of the first to discuss psychological processes in a narcissistic individual going through divorce that can contribute to an understanding of the actions of former partners and to a better understanding of high-conflict divorces that are recognized today as an extremely important psychosocial problem.
Keywords
narcissistic vulnerability; divorce; reaction to stress; loss of self-esteem; narcissistic personality disorder
Hrčak ID:
185293
URI
Publication date:
26.7.2017.
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