Lisa Leit Deborah Jacobvitz Nancy Hazen-swann

Conversational Narcissism in Marriage: Narcissistic Attention Seeking Behaviors in Face-to-face Interactions: Implications for Marital Stability Andpartner Mental Health Lisa Leit Deborah Jacobvitz Nancy Hazen-swann

This study explores how narcissistic attentionseeking behaviors in face-to-face conversation contribute to maritalquality and partner's mental health over the transition to parenthood. Narcissism, considered a personality disorder, is defined as an all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity in fantasy or behavior. Central features of narcissism include a need for admiration and a lackof empathy. The concept of narcissism has been extended beyond mentalillness and is now considered a personality trait (Raskin &Terry, 1988). It follows then that narcissistic tendencies mightaffect oneâ¿¿s communication style. This research elaborates the concept of narcissism, and discusses the ways that narcissistic patterns in interpersonalrelationships have been studied. Finally, drawing upon socialexchange theory, it finds that conversational narcissism characterizes 78percent of marriages, frequently renders spouses invisible, andpredicts maladaptive dialogue and divorce at 7 years.