ADP Project Justification Template (PJT)

Effective Date 12/03/2024

Student Information

First Name: Mary Last Name: Watson

ADP Working Title:

The impact of narcissistic personality disorder on romantic partners: A systematic literatur

Draft Version: 4.0 Date: 12/3/2024

RES 8920/8922 Instructor Review

Approved; may advance to RES 8922

Approved; may advance to ADP coursework following successful completion of RES 8922, ADP
Planning II.

Changes requested; must revise and resubmit. Resubmission must include a change matrix that
includes the instructor comments and how each comment was addressed in the revision.

Beginning on the following page, please complete the following sections in this template, using black, 12-
point font. Please address all required content:
 Justification Statement
 Purpose Statement
 Importance of the Project
 Proposed Project Approach
 Over-arching Study Question(s)/Statement of Project Intent
 References (formatted according to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological
Association, 7th edition)

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 Justification Statement:
Provide sufficient background of the topic area and its relationship to the discipline or field of
study that supports the need for, or opportunity to, conduct the proposed project. Describe the
issue, situation, problem or opportunity that reinforces the need to implement the study,
supported by recent citations from the literature. Briefly explain how the intended outcomes of
the project could be used to advance knowledge, understanding or practice in the discipline or
field of study. (target: 2 to 3 paragraphs)

Crowe et al. (2019) explained that as society becomes more open about discussing mental

health concerns within interpersonal relationships, there is a growing demand to explore the

various ways dysfunctional relationships impact individuals associated with those diagnosed

with narcissistic personality disorder (NPD). Kjærvik and Bushman (2021) explained that while

many personality disorders exhibit a specific maladaptive interpersonal style, NPD stands out as

particularly destructive in work, family, and romantic relationships. These maladaptive

interpersonal styles can be seen in the current clinical descriptions of NPD. The American

Psychiatric Association (APA, 2022) defined NPD as a personality disorder with the following

characteristics: (a) a long-standing pattern of grandiose self-importance and an exaggerated sense

of talent and achievements; (b) fantasies of unlimited sex, power, brilliance, or beauty; (c) an

exhibitionistic need for attention and admiration; (d) either cool indifference or feelings of rage,

humiliation, or emptiness as a response to criticism, indifference, or defeat; and (e) various

interpersonal disturbances, such as feeling entitled to special favors, taking advantage of others,

and inability to empathize with the feelings of others, while the World Health Organization

(2016) described narcissism as a trait which includes self-centredness (grandiosity,

attention-seeking, entitlement and egocentricity) and lack of empathy (callousness,

ruthlessness, manipulativeness, interpersonal exploitation, and hostility). Ronningstam

(2020) discussed pathological narcissism, while Weiss and Miller (2018) endeavoured to

distinguish between different forms of clinical narcissism.

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 Previous research, such as research conducted by Miller et al. (2021), suggested that there

is an impact of NPD on others. Wright and Edershile (2018) noted that prior studies have

focused on analyzing the impairment in people with NPD, but there is a requirement for research

to investigate how these individuals' relationships with family members, colleagues, and

romantic partners are affected. According to Weiss and Miller (2018) investigating the

encounters of individuals in romantic relationships with someone displaying narcissistic traits

presents a fresh perspective in comprehending the more precise impact of dealing with such

individuals. The proposed project will address a lack of a current, systematic review

consolidating themes on the impact of NPD on interpersonal relationships.

Purpose Statement:
Provide a specific, accurate synopsis of the overall purpose of the project. Align the Purpose
Statement to the Justification Statement. In one concise paragraph, succinctly describe the focus,
project approach, scope, and intended outcomes of the study. (target: 1 paragraph)

The purpose of this systematic literature review is to identify themes in the literature relating

to the relationship experiences of people in romantic relationships with individuals with NPD.

According to Zeigler-Hill et al. (2018), Cichocka and Cislak (2020), and Ronningstam (2020),

while there is available research exploring the adverse interpersonal dynamics within

relationships involving individuals with NPD, a comprehensive literature review that

systematically evaluates this existing research to discern its strengths, limitations, and research

gaps is currently lacking. Cichocka and Cislak (2020) further explained that NPD is a severe

mental health condition that hinders an individual's capacity to function effectively, whether in

solitude or in social interactions. Edershile and Wright (2021) estimated that up to 6.2% of the

population may be affected by NPD, underscoring the significance of this mental health crisis.

Narcissism is still a serious problem that can have negative effects on the family members of

those who have the illness. There are competing definitions of NPD with the APA (2022)

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 defining it as a personality disorder with specific characteristics such as grandiosity, power

fantasies, exhibitionism, indifference to criticism and a lack of empathy while the World Health

Organization (2019) describes narcissism as a trait of dysfunction and Ronningstam (2020)

further explained that a link exists between negative interpersonal dynamics with individuals

diagnosed with NPD and their family members. The scope of the project is to synthesize research

on the interpersonal relationship experiences of individuals with NPD and not other personality

disorders. For a systematic literature review, the intended outcome would be to develop a

comprehensive synthesis of available research on the relationship experiences of individuals

involved with people with NPD.

Importance of the Project:

Briefly describe the importance of the proposed project, including how the project represents a
unique approach to the topic, how results may contribute to theory, knowledge and/or practice in
the discipline and the implications of the study to scholars and practitioners. Identify any
knowledge gaps to be addressed by the proposed project. (target: 2 to 3 paragraphs)

The importance of this project is to identify themes in the literature relating to the

relationship experiences of people in romantic relationships with individuals with NPD. This can

guide future research endeavors or policy changes, ensuring a more complete understanding of

clinical narcissism and its impact on romantic partners. The data collected through this project

have the potential to be used to raise awareness of narcissism in interpersonal relationships and

to provide information for people and mental health professionals on differences in

conceptualizations of NPD. Furthermore, the information can be used to further progress

research on NPD and help people navigate their romantic relationships with those who are

diagnosed with NPD.

There is a need to understand the relationship experiences of individuals in relationships

with people with NPD to identify themes and potential areas for support or intervention and as

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 noted by Zeigler-Hill et al. (2018), Cichocka and Cislak (2020), and Ronningstam (2020). While

there is available research exploring the adverse interpersonal dynamics within relationships

involving individuals with NPD, a comprehensive literature review that systematically evaluates

this existing research to discern its strengths, limitations, and research gaps is currently lacking,

and this literature review it will help consolidate what is known and what is unknown about the

relationship experiences of people involved with individuals with NPD.

Proposed Project Approach:

Briefly describe the approach for the proposed project, including how the project will be
conceptualized, organized, and implemented, and discuss how the proposed project will reflect
accumulated learning from the student's academic program. Discuss any proposed data collection
methodologies and instrumentation, as well as the study population, as appropriate. Describe
how project outcomes will be achieved. (target: 2 to 3 paragraphs)

The proposed project approach will be a Systematic Literature Review (SLR). A detailed

analysis of the existing literature incorporates academic databases including but not limited to

ProQuest, EBSCOhost, PsycArticles, Google Scholar, Sage, scholarly journals, and websites

with .gov and .org extensions. A thorough search of these databases will explore current clinical

conceptualizations of narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) and the implications of a diagnosis

on relationship experiences of individuals in romantic relationships with persons who have a

clinical diagnosis. Thomaes et al. (2018) highlighted that a detailed literature review usually

takes a lot of time and deliberate effort to build and structure from the available data.

The main criteria are to search for NPD, Narcissism, Narcissistic traits, and interpersonal

relationships within the past five years starting from 2018. A more detailed search that narrows

down NPD and its impact on interpersonal relationships between the diagnosed subject and their

romantic partners will encompass studies that primarily consist of adults in the United States.

The context will cover a population range and focus on the age, cultural backgrounds,

socioeconomic standing, organizational settings as well as geography. Following the PRISMA

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 guidelines, described by Page (2021), the study will systematically organize data for analysis,

aiming to explore existing research concerning the interpersonal relationship experiences of

individuals clinically diagnosed with NPD within the context of romantic partners.

Over-arching Study Question(s)/Statement of Project Intent:

Present the over-arching study question(s) or statement of project intent to be addressed,
consistent with the proposed Purpose Statement and project approach. If hypotheses will be
tested, identify the specific quantitative research questions and hypotheses, as well. (target: 1
paragraph)

The following over-arching questions will be addressed through this project:

RQ: What themes emerge from the literature on the relationship experiences of people in

romantic relationships with individuals with NPD?

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 References

American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Personality disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical

manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.).

https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425787.x18_Personality_Disorders

Cichocka, A., & Cislak, A. (2020). Nationalism as collective narcissism. Current Opinion in

Behavioral Sciences, 34, 69–74. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.12.013

Crowe, M. L., Lynam, D. R., Campbell, W. K., & Miller, J. D. (2019). Exploring the structure of

narcissism: Toward an integrated solution. Journal of Personality, 87(6), 1151–1169.

https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12464

Edershile, E. A., & Wright, A. G. (2021). Narcissism dynamics. Social and Personality

Psychology Compass, 16(1), Article 12649. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12649

Kjærvik, S. L., & Bushman, B. J. (2021). The link between narcissism and aggression: A meta-

analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 147(5), 477–503.

https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000323

Miller, J. D., Back, M. D., Lynam, D. R., & Wright, A. G. (2021). Narcissism today: What we

know and what we need to learn. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30(6),

519–525. https://doi.org/10.1177/09637214211044109

Page, M. J. (2021). The PRISMA 2020 statement: An updated guide for reporting systematic

reviews. BMJ, 372, Article n71. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n71

Ronningstam, E. (2020). Internal processing in patients with pathological narcissism or NPD:

Implications for alliance building and therapeutic strategies. Journal of Personality

Disorders, 34(Supplement), 80–103. https://doi.org/10.1521/pedi.2020.34.supp.80

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 Thomaes, S., Brummelman, E., & Sedikides, C. (2018). Narcissism: A social-developmental

perspective. In V. Zeigler-Hill & T. K. Shackleford (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of

personality and individual differences: Volume III: Applications of personality and

individual differences (pp. 377–394). SAGE. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781526451248.n16

Weiss, B., & Miller, J. D. (2018). Distinguishing between grandiose narcissism, vulnerable

narcissism, and NPD. Journal of Personality, 86(4), 311-313.

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-92171-6_1

World Health Organization. (2016). The ICD-10 classification of mental and behavioural

disorders: clinical descriptions and diagnostic guidelines (Vol. 1). World Health

Organization.

Wright, A. G., & Edershile, E. A. (2018). Issues resolved and unresolved in pathological

narcissism. Current Opinion in Psychology, 21, 74–79.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.10.001

Zeigler‐Hill, V., Vrabel, J. K., McCabe, G. A., Cosby, C. A., Traeder, C. K., Hobbs, K. A., &

Southard, A. C. (2018). Narcissism and the pursuit of status. Journal of Personality,

87(2), 310–327. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12392

Hi, Mary! The big issue that is remaining is in looking at the descriptions and resources from
the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO completely revised how they defined personality
disorders in the ICD-11, which is the current diagnostic source, and that reconceptualization will
completely change how the disorder is diagnosed and described in the literature. That needs to be
acknowledged in the section when discussing the different descriptions because this will impact how
you locate current research. The description that you have said comes from the WHO includes
descriptions that I do not see in the resource provided in the reference list. The 2016 WHO source
only says the following:
"F60.8 Other specific personality disorders
A personality disorder that fits none of the specific rubrics
F60.0-F60.7.

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 Includes: eccentric, "haltlose" type, immature, narcissistic, passiveaggressive, and psychoneurotic
personality (disorder)" (p. 207).
There is mention of 2019 WHO source, but that is not included in the reference list, so I cannot
assess that source. Can you point me in the direction of where the description is from that includes
the description of self-centeredness and grandiosity? - Dr D

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