Parental vulnerable narcissism and depression: Emotional enmeshment as a cross-cultural mediating mechanism

ÇİMŞİR E., Hansen-Brown A.

Personality and Individual Differences, vol.260, 2026 (SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 260
  • Publication Date: 2026
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/j.paid.2026.113902
  • Journal Name: Personality and Individual Differences
  • Journal Indexes: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, Child Development & Adolescent Studies, Index Islamicus, Psycinfo, Violence & Abuse Abstracts
  • Keywords: Child mental health, Cross-cultural, Depressive symptoms, Emotional incest, Family relations, Parent-child enmeshment, Parental narcissism
  • Anadolu University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

The relational processes linking parental narcissistic traits to individual differences in depressive symptoms among adult children remain insufficiently understood across cultures. This study examined whether emotional enmeshment—a maladaptive relational pattern characterized by blurred emotional boundaries and heightened parental reliance on the child—mediates the association between perceived parental vulnerable narcissism and depressive symptoms in adult children. A cross-cultural convenience sample of 513 university students (266 from the United States and 247 from Türkiye) completed the Childhood Emotional Incest Scale (CEIS), the Hypersensitive Narcissism Scale adapted to assess perceived parental narcissism, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Multi-group SEM results indicated that emotional enmeshment significantly mediated this association, with no structural paths differing significantly across the two cultural groups. The mediation model was also invariant across participant–chosen parent gender-match groups. Latent mean analyses indicated higher levels of emotional enmeshment among U.S. participants. These findings identify emotional enmeshment as a key relational mechanism linking parental narcissism to depressive symptoms, support the cross-cultural applicability of the CEIS, and contribute to research on personality pathology, family processes, and individual differences.