Narcissism and Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

This review aimed to examine the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and trait narcissism, and whether the strength of this relationship differs depending on narcissism type (grandiose or vulnerable), the type of violence perpetrated, or the perpetrator's gender. Scopus, Medline, PsycInfo, and Academic Search Complete databases were searched on August 11, 2022. Studies were included if they were in English, measured IPV perpetration and trait narcissism, and examined the relationship between trait narcissism and IPV perpetration. Studies were excluded if they were review papers, conference extracts, book chapters, or if the data was not specific to trait narcissism. The AXIS tool was used to assess the quality and risk of bias of the studies. Twenty-two studies (N = 11,520 participants) were included in the random effects meta-analysis revealing a significant, weak, positive relationship between trait narcissism and IPV perpetration, r = .15. Subgroup analyses revealed physical IPV perpetration was not significantly related to trait narcissism while cyber and psychological IPV perpetration were significantly, positively, weakly related to trait narcissism. No significant difference in the strength of the relationship with IPV perpetration was found between males and females. The relationship between trait narcissism and IPV perpetration was significantly greater for vulnerable narcissism than grandiose narcissism. Overall, the quality of the included studies was high, and risk of bias was low. All measures were self-report and underreporting could be present given both narcissistic traits and IPV perpetration are considered socially undesirable. Future research examining these relationships should specify IPV and narcissism types.

Automated summary

This review examined the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and trait narcissism, and found a weak, positive relationship between the two. The relationship was stronger for vulnerable narcissism than grandiose narcissism. Psychological and cyber IPV perpetration were significantly related to trait narcissism, while physical IPV perpetration was not. There was no significant difference in the relationship based on gender.