Wives’ perception of sexual relationship with narcissistic men: Results of a qualitative thematic analysis with Iranian women

Background and aims: Many studies have investigated the interpersonal dimensions of narcissism, though women’s perceptions of sexualrelationship with a narcissistic individual have rarely been the topic of interest. The main purpose of this study was to investigate the sexuallived experiences of women living with narcissistic men.Methods: To this end, a qualitative thematic analysis was used to have a better understanding of the concept. A total of ۳۱ women wereselected through convenience sampling technique and were interviewed using a semi-structured interview, all of whom were living withtheir narcissistic husbands. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by thematic analysis.Results: Based on the findings of this study, two main themes emerged during data analysis. First, women found their sexual relationshipwith a narcissistic man insecure, as well as the perception that their relationship was one-sided and demanding. In addition, the insecuredrelationship comprised several subthemes including the lack of sexual intimacy, sexual aggression and unwanted sex, and low commitment.The other main themes contained two sub-themes, namely, unrealistic and excessive expectations from the spouse and the relationship andthe lack of responsibility and cooperation of the husband.Conclusion: This study was mainly focused on sexuality in living with a narcissistic person and the results showed that sex is stronglyinfluenced by the consequences of narcissism. This study also has some research and clinical implications for future research.

Keywords:

Sexual relationship , Thematic analysis , Narcissism