This episode continues the Heal NPD Seminar Series with Dr. Mark Ettensohn, joined by his associates Deanna Young, Psy.D., and Danté Spencer, M.A.

In this session, the group examines a recent empirical study titled Coercive Control and Intimate Partner Violence: Relationship with Personality Disorder Severity and Pathological Narcissism (2025).

The discussion responds directly to common claims in online discourse that narcissism inherently causes abuse, and asks a more precise question: What does the data actually show about the relationship between narcissism, personality dysfunction, abuse, and coercive control?

The study reviewed draws on informant reports from long-term partners and family members of individuals perceived as highly narcissistic. Importantly, narcissism was rated by loved ones rather than self-reported, addressing a frequent critique of prior research.

The findings showed no significant association between overall pathological narcissism and abuse, and only weak associations with coercive control. In contrast, overall personality disorder severity showed stronger and more consistent relationships with both abuse and coercive control, but these associations were still mostly weak.

The group explores what this means clinically, emphasizing the distinction between personality style (such as narcissistic features) and personality organization or severity. The discussion clarifies why certain narcissistic subcomponents, such as exploitative behavior, entitlement-related rage, and grandiose fantasy, show limited associations with specific forms of harm, while many other narcissistic features do not. Key themes include:

The difference between episodic abuse and chronic coercive control
Why collapsing abuse into a single personality label is misleading
The role of personality severity and impaired functioning across diagnoses
The limits of trait-based and moralized explanations of harm
Clinical implications for assessment, treatment, and stigma reduction

Throughout, the conversation situates abuse as a highly overdetermined phenomenon influenced by many overlapping factors, rather than the inevitable outcome of narcissism or any single diagnosis.

The session concludes by emphasizing the importance of dimensional, developmentally informed models of personality over reductive and stigmatizing narratives.

This series is intended for clinicians, trainees, and viewers seeking a nuanced, non-moralizing understanding of narcissism, personality disorder severity, and relational harm.

To learn more about our work, visit: www.HealNPD.org

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Article Cited and Discussed: Day, N. J. S., Kealy, D., Biberdzic, M., Green, A., Denmeade, G., & Grenyer, B. F. S. (2025). Coercive control and intimate partner violence: Relationship with personality disorder severity and pathological narcissism. Personality and Mental Health, 19, e70038.

Full text link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/p...