Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2009. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 74-77).

The purpose of this research was to investigate the clinical phenomenon of destructive narcissism. Contemporary Kleinian and neo-Kleinian theoretical perspectives provided the interpretative perspective on the complexities of inaccessible personalities and subtle forms of internal destructiveness. Four research questions were formulated to interrogate the individual and collective experiences of three male patients whose internal worlds seem to be governed by rigid intrapychic structures organized around the dictatorship of a constellation of seemingly impenetrable defensive strategies. These questions were as follows: 1. What emotional states, actions and experiences of self and others characterize the clinical phenomenon designed as destructive narcissism and distinguish it from other forms of character pathology? 2. What early developmental experiences and relationships may have pre-disposed individuals to the development of this type of character pathology? 3. How are the psychodynamic processes of destructive narcissism structured and configured in the psychotherapeutic process and progress? 4. What are the transference/countertransference psychotherapeutic manifestations of the psychodynamics of destructive narcissism? The illustrative-didactic case study method was utilized to discuss pertinent aspects of each patient. This included their early developmental histories, inter- and intrapersonal relationships, their current mental state, defensive strategies and their stated reasons for commencing psychotherapy. In addition, the structure of the psychotherapeutic process with these patients was reviewed in depth. Various psychic and personality features, as unveiled through this process were discussed, as well as the implications of these for the therapeutic endeavor. The features chosen for discussion were: Firstly, the constellation of the internal object world, the capacity for symbolic thought and defensive organizations. Secondly, therapeutic ambivalence, which made psychotherapy untenable, was explored in conjunction with transference/countertransference issues. Thirdly, the shadow sides of psychotherapeutic change with these patients were considered and the issues of therapeutic failure and other treatment possibilities were examined. It was concluded that there need be an important shift with regard to the psychotherapeutic goals for those patients whose condition may be chronic, and for whom it appears that psychotherapy is of little benefit. In essence, the intent of psychotherapy with these patients is to reach the healthy sane patient of the patient within the pathological organization. Attempts to unravel the perverse gratification and protection derived from the domination of the narcissistic structure may not be enough, and the patient's collusion with the internal destructive gang should also be exposed. If this can be achieved, the patient may come to accept the existence of a part of himself as truly destructive. This, in turn, cannot be disowned, therefore the patient has to live with it. Thus, in destructive narcissism, the challenge for the therapist is the extremely difficult task of disentangling the patient's pain from the idealization of internal destructiveness. / KMBT_363 / Adobe Acrobat 9.54 Paper Capture Plug-in

The thrust of this paper was two-fold, 1) to confirm a 2-factor model of narcissism in women, and 2) to examine the relationship between narcissistic traits in mothers and several variables associated with parenting efficacy. Participants included 193 mother-child dyads. A 2-factor model of narcissism was confirmed in the present sample of mothers, suggesting that narcissistic traits in women may be manifested in distinct Overt and Covert forms. Contrary to expectations, Covert Narcissistic traits in mothers did not significantly correlate with observed parenting behaviors on the PCIA, including Positive Personal Comments (PPC) towards children, Negative Personal Comments (NPC), and Parental Nurturance. However, children's self-reported maternal rejection on the C-PARQ correlated positively with Covert Narcissistic traits in mothers, as did mother's self-reported dysfunctional parenting attitudes on the AAPI-2. Narcissistic traits in mothers correlated most strongly with risk of child physical abuse on the CAPI (r = .70). Results are also presented for the Overt Narcissism factor, which proved to be less stable as a factor. Overall, results emphasize the need for a more comprehensive understanding of narcissism for women, given its potential Implications for children's healthy development and parenting interventions.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The presence of narcissism in the workplace is well established. Some have even gone so far as to extol the virtues of the narcissistic personality and the effect that it has on the leadership roles in organizations. Still, research suggests that there are more narcissists than there are leadership positions that might be filled. It is well established that the presence of those with strong narcissistic tendencies at the lower levels of organizations are disruptive to the productivity and the morale of the organization as a whole. This paper found that five coping method categories existed: non-responding, quitting one’s job, befriending the narcissist, confronting the narcissist, and going to management. Contrary to existing literature, only quitting one’s job or going to management were perceived by respondents as effective methods.

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Recent empirical studies have looked that the relationship between narcissism and different aspects of organizations. However, little research exists on narcissism in group work and its relationship with productivity and group effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between narcissism, self-perceptions and other perceptions of competence and contribution in a team performance setting. Data were collected from college-aged students (N = 52) at a state university. Results indicate that a narcissistic view of authority is correlated the group's perception of leadership and with time spent talking during the group task. Furthermore, narcissistic vanity was positively correlated with higher group respect and personal error on the in-lab task.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Humanities / Master / Master of Philosophy

This research, as a multiple-participant case study, has explored the integration of Self Psychology and art therapy with three women who have disorders of self known as Narcissistic Behaviour Disorders. These disorders are defined in Self Psychology by the presence of perversion, addiction and/or delinquency that represent the enactment of fantasies that are markedly and decidedly narcissistic in nature. In this thesis, only addiction and perversion were considered feasible for psychotherapy in which the integration of Self Psychology and art therapy were achieved. The findings of this research support this integration as a form of psychotherapy that is successful in treating women who can be diagnosed as having Narcissistic Behaviour Disorders. In the case of the abuse of alcohol, the abuse of food and the presence of sexual self-mutilation, this integration was found to provide patient-participants with the opportunity to use the art as external, healthy transitional selfobjects that could replace the external ersatz selfobjects of food and alcohol and the objects that had become sexualised as part of the perversion. In breaking from findings on treating addiction within Self Psychology, this research provided evidence to support the use of the transitional selfobjects in the form of art within the self-selfobject relationship with the psychotherapist-researcher. This finding backs the move to the use of transference and the self-selfobject psychotherapeutic relationship as the guiding context for psychotherapy, while moving away from the notion that people with Narcissistic Behaviour Disorders should use the psychotherapist for the purposes of healing. Instead, the emphasis in the current findings is that the art can be used within the therapeutic relationship, providing two forms of selfobjects for the patient, each with a different purpose. This research has generated guidelines for psychotherapists and art therapists who wish to integrate art therapy and Self Psychology. An absence of literature in art therapy based on the paradigm of Self Psychology has made these guidelines a working model that will need further refinement and research. These guidelines are derived from the analysis of data that revealed how the integration of Self Psychology and art therapy articulated and manifested the diagnosis, understanding and treatment of three women with Narcissistic Behaviour Disorders in long-term art therapy informed by Self Psychology. / Prof. H.G. Pretorius