Dependent Personality Disorder: Understanding the Condition
A dependent personality disorder is a condition characterized by an extreme need to be taken care of, leading to clinging and submissive behavior. Individuals with this disorder have an acute fear of separation or being alone, as they see themselves as inept. They often build their lives around other people, subordinating their own needs and views to keep these people involved with them. As a result, they may be indiscriminate in their selection of mates and may fail to get appropriately angry with others due to fear of losing their support. This can lead to individuals with dependent personalities remaining in psychologically or physically abusive relationships.
Individuals with dependent personality disorder have great difficulty making even simple, everyday decisions without a great deal of advice and reassurance. They lack self-confidence and feel helpless even when they have developed good work skills or other competencies. They may function well as long as they are not required to be on their own. Dependent personality disorder occurs in slightly under 1 percent of the population and is more common in women than in men. This gender difference is not due to a sex bias in making the diagnosis, but rather to the higher prevalence in women of certain personality traits such as neuroticism and agreeableness, which are prominent in dependent personality disorder.
Dependent personality disorder is often comorbid with other disorders including mood disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and somatic symptom disorders. Comorbidity is also high between dependent personality disorder and other personality disorders, especially schizoid, avoidant, borderline, and histrionic personality disorders. Some of this comorbidity may stem from an overlap between the features of dependent personality disorder and those of borderline, histrionic, and avoidant personality disorders.
It can be challenging to distinguish between dependent and avoidant personalities. Dependent personalities have great difficulty separating in relationships because they feel incompetent on their own and need to be taken care of. In contrast, avoidant personalities have trouble initiating relationships because they fear the humiliation they will experience if criticized or rejected. However, avoidant personality disorder co-occurs rather frequently with dependent personality disorder. In conclusion, dependent personality disorder is a complex condition characterized by an extreme need to be taken care of and a fear of separation or being alone. It can be difficult to distinguish from other disorders, such as avoidant personality disorder. However, understanding the critical features of this condition can help individuals affected to seek appropriate treatment and support.
References
Hooley, J. M., Nock, M. K., & Butcher, J. N. (2019). Abnormal Psychology (18th ed.). Pearson Education (US). https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/books/9780135191033
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