Sense of Entitlement in Couple Relationships: An Attachment Theory Perspective

Tolmacz, Rami

doi:10.1057/ajp.2010.40

Cited by 23 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Tolmacz and Mikulincer (2011) found that sense of entitlement was related to adult attachment insecurity in the form of attachment anxiety (indicating a preoccupied style) and avoidance (indicating a fearful and/or dismissive style). Aside from these findings, research on links between entitlement and adult attachment is limited, with much of the research on entitlement and adult attachment focusing instead on relational entitlement -the belief that one deserves more than their partner in romantic relationships -and childhood attachment to parents (e.g., Tolmacz, 2011;Tolmacz and Mikulincer, 2011;Rothman and Steil, 2012;Shadach et al, 2018). There are many reasons to expect that an exaggerated sense of entitlement may interact with adult attachment style and influence narcissistic pathology.…”

Section: Pathological Narcissism and Adult Attachment Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These caregiver conditions are akin to those that are thought to generate attachment security which may translate to greater security in adulthood. Conversely, an exaggerated sense of entitlement (often seen in narcissistic presentations) has been theorized to emerge from parental behavior that is insensitive to needs, but occasionally over indulgent (Meyer, 1991;Tolmacz, 2011), and early trauma (Moses and Moses-Hrushovski, 1990). Whilst quality of early attachments to caregiver may be relevant to the development of entitlement, research addressing current attachmentparticularly Bartholomew and Horowitz's four category modeland entitlement as part of a narcissistic presentation is scarce.…”

Section: Pathological Narcissism and Adult Attachment Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Pathological Narcissism and Emotional Responses to Rejection: The Impact of Adult Attachment

et al. 2021

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Background: Aspects of pathological narcissism, such as grandiosity, vulnerability and entitlement, tend be enacted in therapeutic settings, negatively influencing outcome and alliance between the clients and therapist. This research took an experimental approach to understanding the interplay between the emotional reactions of individuals with a pathological narcissistic presentation, and adult attachment style. We predicted that participants reporting narcissistic vulnerability would report greater insecurity in attachment (fearful and preoccupied styles), greater trait emotional reactivity, and also experience more intense and negative responses to simulated rejectionMethods: 269 participants (75.84% female, median age = 21) completed baseline and rejection trials of a virtual ball-tossing game, following the assessment of grandiose and vulnerable pathological narcissism, entitlement, adult attachment, trait emotional reactivity (measured prior to the rejection) and in-situ affective response (measured both before and after the rejection). Change in affect from baseline was calculated to capture affective responses to the manipulation.Results: Vulnerable narcissism was positively associated with both fearful and preoccupied attachment, and negatively associated with secure and dismissive attachment, whilst grandiose narcissism was significantly related to preoccupied attachment only. Multiple hierarchical regression analyses showed vulnerable narcissism predicted both (1) more negative trait emotional reactivity and (2) a significant increase in negative affect following the rejection trial. Grandiose narcissism was associated with (1) higher positive trait emotional reactivity, and (2) significant reductions in positive affect following rejection.Conclusion: Results indicated that those high in pathological narcissistic vulnerability reported greater insecurity in attachment, negative trait emotional reactivity and experienced a more negative and intense emotional reaction to rejection. Grandiose narcissism was related to a more deactivated pattern of emotional reactivity, and less positive (rather than more negative) emotional reactions. Findings have important implications for therapy, particularly regarding communication of emotions for individuals high in vulnerable and grandiose narcissism.

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Section: Pathological Narcissism and Adult Attachment Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pathological Narcissism and Adult Attachment Stylesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pathological Narcissism and Emotional Responses to Rejection: The Impact of Adult Attachment

et al. 2021

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“…SRE has generally been conceived in pathological terms, for example, as a criterion for psychopathy (Hare, 1999), or narcissistic personality disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). Some researchers have, however, suggested a different perspective and framed SRE in the context of attachment theory (Tolmacz, 2011; Wolfe & Bailey, 2003). According to this perspective, infants learn about their entitlement from the unique response of primary caregivers to their demands.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Attachment, Sense of Entitlement in Romantic Relationships, and Sexual Revictimization Among Adult CSA Survivors

Brenner

Bachner‐Melman

Lev‐Ari

et al. 2019

J Interpers Violence

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Insecure attachment orientations are disproportionately frequent in child sexual abuse (CSA) survivors and have been found to mediate some of the effects of CSA on adult interpersonal and romantic difficulties, including sexual revictimization (SR). A sense of relational entitlement (SRE) has received growing attention in psychological discourse and research in recent years. It reflects both adaptive (assertive) and pathological (restricted or inflated) attitudes to the assertion of needs and rights and has not been studied in adult CSA survivors. The purpose of this study was to examine associations between CSA, attachment orientations, SR, and SRE. Sixty-seven Israeli women aged 25 ± 3.95 years (30 adult CSA survivors and 37 healthy female controls with no history of CSA) completed a demographic questionnaire and self-reported measures of adult attachment orientations, sense of entitlement in romantic relationships, and adult SR. CSA survivors reported greater attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance, more restricted SRE, and higher revictimization rates than control women. No difference was found between the groups in inflated SRE. In the CSA but not the control group, anxious and avoidant attachment orientations were significantly and negatively associated with assertive SRE. Insecure (anxious and avoidant) attachment fully mediated the association between CSA and restricted SRE. Our findings suggest that the interplay between insecure attachment and CSA is related to a sense of impaired assertive entitlement and elevated restricted entitlement in adult CSA survivors. This entitlement pattern can be destructive to survivors’ romantic relationships and should be addressed in therapy.

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“…40 -63 ;Tolmacz, 2011 ). As might be expected both his wife and their therapist agreed to " honor " (or colluded with) his insistent desire.…”

Section: Frankmentioning

confidence: 86%

Destructive Women and the Men Who Can't Leave Them: Pathological Dependence or Pathological Omnipotence?

Friedman

2012

Am J Psychoanal

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Clinicians have focused more on the troubling issue of women who are dominated and abused by men than they have on those occasions where men are abused by women. While usually not involving physical abuse, the destructiveness of some women, expressed in terms of harsh and destructive verbal and interpersonal behavior can be so striking and persistent that it should remain of interest to psychoanalysts. This clinical paper examines two examples of male patients who, while accomplished in many spheres of their lives, are nevertheless engaged in marriages to women whose hateful behavior toward them is impossible to deny. Despite considerable awareness of how much they are damaged by their wives, they are either unwilling or unable to utilize separation and divorce as tools to protect themselves, with the ultimate goal of starting life again free of the persecutory other. The dynamics involved for men stuck in such dyads are considered, including the possible negative role of a systems approach to couples' therapy that assumes mutual responsibility for the couples' dysfunction and distress.

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Sense of Entitlement in Couple Relationships: An Attachment Theory Perspective

Cited by 23 publications

References 26 publications

Pathological Narcissism and Emotional Responses to Rejection: The Impact of Adult Attachment

Pathological Narcissism and Emotional Responses to Rejection: The Impact of Adult Attachment

Attachment, Sense of Entitlement in Romantic Relationships, and Sexual Revictimization Among Adult CSA Survivors

Destructive Women and the Men Who Can't Leave Them: Pathological Dependence or Pathological Omnipotence?

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