Narcissistic love: The role of perceived valuation and partner’s narcissism

Narcissists favor interpersonal contexts where their need for admiration by others - especially by highly valued others - can be met. The current study examined this preference within romantic relationships. We expected that narcissists who perceive that they are being valued by their partners will reciprocate by showing more love for them. Moreover, because narcissists may see other narcissists as more highly valued - (due to the perceived similarity to self) - we expected this link to be strongest when their partner rates high on narcissism. Data from 83 couples were analyzed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM). Our findings revealed that for individuals high on narcissism self-reported love for their partners increased significantly with rising perceived partner valuation. No corresponding effects emerged for other partner combinations. Hence, the results suggest that partner valuation plays a crucial role in romantic relationships of grandiose narcissists, especially when paired with another narcissist of the kind.