How did Kohut explain developmental arrest in narcissism?

According to the psychoanalyst Heinz Kohut, narcissism is understood as a developmental arrest—a failure in the maturation of a healthy self.

Kohut posited that a child’s self develops through essential interactions with empathic caregivers. When parents provide appropriate mirroring, they foster a realistic sense of self; when they reveal their own human limitations, they allow the child to internalize realistic, attainable ideals. Developmental arrest occurs when a parent is unempathetic and fails to provide this necessary approval or appropriate role models.

As a result of this halt in development, the individual remains stuck at a stage where the self is grandiose and unrealistic. To compensate for this internal deficit and maintain self-esteem, the individual continues to rely on the idealization of others through association.1