In the study, researchers from Queen’s University Belfast asked 608 participants – both teenagers and their parents - about the parenting style in their household and the degree to which they both agreed what this parenting style was.

The researchers also assessed both the parents and teenagers on personality traits of narcissism.

The study found that parents' own past adverse childhood experiences do influence relationships with their children.

Tayler Truhan from the School of Psychology at Queen’s is first author of the study. She explains: “Interestingly, the study reveals that parents who experience emotional neglect as children were more likely to use hostile and controlling parenting. Experiences of emotional neglect also led to increased narcissistic distrust in parents. This is where the parent has a sense of cynicism and doesn’t trust the motives, intentions, and reliability of others. The findings show that this can lead to the parent using more cold, rejecting, and indifferent parenting."

She adds: “The study also highlights that where parents display narcissistic distrust, parents and teenagers are both more likely to perceive the parenting style in their household as indifferent and rejecting.” 

The researchers also examined narcissistic authority, where parents tend to take charge of situations, take responsibility for making decisions and perceive themselves as a leader. In these situations, the researchers found that parents and teens were more likely to perceive the parenting style as warm and supportive.

The study also looked at narcissistic traits in the teenagers. Researchers found that where teenagers displayed traits of self-absorption, the parenting style was more likely to be hostile and rejecting.

Dr Kostas Papageorgiou from Queen’s is senior author on the study. He says: “It is vitally important that parents and teenagers understand the style of parenting within their own households, and that they agree on what this is. This allows both the parent and the teenager to work together and can lead to a more harmonious relationship."

He adds: “The findings have implications for parents and their adolescent offspring. The study will help them to understand the importance of factors such as the perception of parenting, as well as past parental adversity and personality traits such as narcissism. All of this has an important impact on their relationship.”

The research has been published in Personality and Individual Differences.

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