Narcissistic Rivalry Lowers Relationship Satisfaction
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- Michigan State University researchers conducted a longitudinal study tracking over 5,000 couples for up to six years, measuring two dimensions of narcissism: admiration and rivalry.
- Gwendolyn Seidman, lead author and associate professor in MSU's Department of Psychology, described narcissistic admiration as impressing others and rivalry as putting others down to appear superior.
- Narcissistic rivalry traits were consistently linked to lower relationship satisfaction for both partners throughout the study.
- Narcissistic admiration showed no meaningful effect on either partner's relationship satisfaction, contrary to earlier research.
- Study findings indicated that the rate of satisfaction decline was not steeper for couples where one partner scored highly on narcissism, suggesting nuanced long‑term effects.
- Couples together for a year or less displayed no association between narcissistic traits and relationship satisfaction.
- Journal of Personality published the study, titled "From Spark to Strain? Changes in Relationship Satisfaction as a Function of Narcissistic Admiration and Rivalry," in 2026.
Why it matters: Clinicians and relationship researchers gain a clearer target for intervention, as the study shows that the rivalry component of narcissism, not admiration, erodes partner satisfaction, while the lack of effect from admiration suggests that charming early behavior may not predict later distress.
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