A Study on Love Bombing, Narcissism and Emotional Abuse among Young Adults in Relationship and Situationship

Abstract

Love bombing isn’t a diagnostic term, though it is used by mental health professionals to describe a form of emotional abuse. Love bombing is a controlling and manipulative tactic most often used by narcissists and abusive individuals. They seek to quickly obtain affection and attention before tearing their victims down. Narcissistic abuse has a negative impact on both your physical and your emotional well-being. Being in an abusive relationship with someone who has narcissistic tendencies often can have lasting effects, even if the narcissistic abuser is no longer in your life. A total sample of 45 young adults in the age group of 18-25 years was collected. Standardised scales were used to measure love bombing, narcissism and emotional abuse. Results found out that none of the results were significantly correlated. However, there was a positive correlation for individuals in a relationship between love bombing and narcissism, love bombing and emotional abuse. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between narcissism and emotional abuse for people in a relationship. There was a negative correlation between love bombing and narcissism for people in situationships, love bombing and emotional abuse. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between narcissism and emotional abuse for people in a situationship. However, all relationships were insignificant. Navigating a relationship with someone who has narcissistic personality disorder, or narcissistic tendencies can be difficult. Instead of attempting to “fix” them, focusing on our own behaviours and well-being is best suggested. This includes setting clear boundaries, building a strong support system, and practising staying calm and responding appropriately.