“Now I Can See Things for What They Are”: The Experiences of Adult Children of Narcissists

Abstract

Abstract This study drew on the Power Threat Meaning Framework (PTMF) and narrative therapy literature to explore the experiences of adult children of narcissists (ACON) to understand how they have made sense of their own experiences and protected themselves from adversity. Data from semi-structured interviews with six individuals who identified one of their parents as a narcissist were analyzed using Reflexive Thematic Analysis. The experiences of these participants were captured by four themes: “It’s a brutal way to be raised,” “A way forward: it was them not me,” “I see the tentacles of how deep and far and wide it goes,” and “The lost ideal.” “Journey of healing" was identified as the overarching theme that encapsulated the essence of the participants’ experiences. This study is the first phenomenological account of this hitherto under researched cohort. It has also extended the literature on the PTMF by demonstrating its utility in formulating ACON’s experiences of psychological distress. Findings illustrate how personal narratives can be used to facilitate individual recovery. These findings can potentially aid clinicians to better understand and support ACON in clinical settings. Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10720537.2022.2048285 .