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The Lasting Damage of Narcissistic Fathers on Daughters

Alexis Azria
4 min readJan 12, 2023

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We cannot underestimate the long-term damage inflicted on the daughters of narcissistic dads or how these relationships become the templates for future partners. With their disregard for personal boundaries, these charismatic men expect everyone including their children to satisfy their smallest whim. If they do not receive the demanded narcissistic supply, they will withhold affection and neglect their child’s emotional and physical needs. The daughter, as a result, will only get approval through her total obedience and blind loyalty.

This is a disaster for daughters. They need parental stability and their father’s protection instead of emotional neglect. In fact, the damage of a narcissistic father leads to psychological symptoms similar to children who were physically abused. The effects can be lifelong if not addressed by mental health professionals.

Without help, these young women have a high probability of:

  1. A distorted understanding of what love looks like.
  2. Choosing narcissistic or emotionally unavailable partners.
  3. Not knowing what to do with romantic partners who are good to them because they’ve been conditioned to think love is controlling and manipulative.
  4. Normalizing and subconsciously expecting abuse and neglect…

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Alexis Azria

Writer and curious creator. Passionate about work, life & social issues. Visit alexisazria.com