Disengaged and highly harsh? Perceived parenting profiles, narcissism, and loneliness among adolescents from divorced families

Abstract

Guided by a socio-ecological framework, the current study explores perceived parenting profiles among adolescents from divorced and intact families, and examines whether these perceived parenting profiles may vary with correspondence to different family structures (divorced vs. intact). Moreover, this study investigates the associations of perceived parenting profiles, narcissism, and family structures with loneliness. A total of 237 adolescents (59% girls; Mage = 15.56; SD = 1.58) who experienced parental divorce, and 444 socio-demographically matched peers from intact families (66% girls; Mage = 15.68; SD = 1.58) were involved in this study. These adolescents were asked to complete a battery of self-report questionnaires during school hours. The findings showed four perceived parenting profiles: disengaged, supportive, harsh, and highly harsh. Adolescents from divorced families overrepresented in the disengaged profile and the highly harsh profile, whereas adolescents from intact families overrepresented in the supportive profile. Moreover, moderation analyses showed that, among those sorted into the highly harsh parental profile (vs. the harsh profile), post-divorce adolescents with higher levels of narcissism exhibited lower levels of loneliness than those reporting lower levels of narcissism. The current study indicates that narcissism presents a protective pattern for post-divorce adolescent social relationships, when parents are highly harsh in disciplining them.