If I can add one thing to this, it's that being continuously ignored and/or dismissed, while growing up, and having your own parents whispering behind your back (all the time), messes you up really badly...

Might not turn you into a Narc yourself, but like you said, "snivelling cowardice" is not optimal, either...

I only learnt to stand up to authority figures in my twenties... A lot of bad shit happened, before I finally managed to grow enough of a spine to even do that. So yeah...