Dependent Personality Disorder

Dependent personality disorder (DPD) is characterized by an enduring pattern of

pervasive and excessive psychological dependence on other people (in order to be taken care of
and to meet one’s own emotional and physical needs), fear of separation, and passive, clinging,
and submissive behavior. It begins by early adulthood, and it is present in a variety of contexts
and is associated with inadequate functioning.

 Causes:
Dependent personality disorder may be caused by a combination of biological and
developmental factors. People exposed to authoritarian or overprotective parenting styles,
chronic physical illness, or separation anxiety during childhood may be more likely to develop
dependent personality traits.

 Symptoms:

- An inability to make common, everyday decisions without the reassurance of others.

- Avoidance of personal responsibility, including tasks requiring independent functioning.
- An intense fear of abandonment and a sense of devastation or helplessness when
relationships end, and a tendency to quickly seek out and begin new relationships.
- Difficulty being alone.
- Avoidance of disagreement with others out of fear of losing support or approval.
- Willingness to tolerate mistreatment and abuse from others.
- Placing the needs of their caregivers above their own.
- Over-sensitivity to criticism.
- Pessimism and lack of self-confidence, including a belief that they are unable to care for
themselves.
- Difficulty beginning projects.

 Diagnosis:
A psychiatrist or a psychologist usually diagnosis DPD. They’ll take your symptoms,
history, and mental state into account during diagnosis. Your doctor will give you a physical
exam to see if a physical illness could be the source of, particularly anxiety. This may include
blood tests to check for hormone imbalances. If tests are inconclusive, your doctor will likely
refer you to a mental health specialist.
Diagnosis begins with a detailed history of your symptoms. This includes how long
you’ve been experiencing them and how they came out. That’s why the doctor may ask
question about your childhood and your present life.

 Treatment:
Personality disorders are developed usually before the age of 18, and if not treated
properly at a young age, they may be more problematic later and could only be treated with
the help of therapy.
 In case of DPD, treatment works on alleviating symptoms. DPD is often treated by
psychotherapy at first. Therapy can help you understand your condition. It can teach you
ways to build healthy relationships with others and improve your self-esteem. Psychotherapy
is usually used on short-term basis. Long-term therapy could put you at risk of growing
dependent on your therapist. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is used commonly.
Medications can help relieve anxiety and depression, but are generally used as a last
resort. Your doctor may prescribe you a medication to treat panic attacks that result from
extreme anxiety. But some medications for anxiety and depression are habit-forming, so you
may have to see your doctor regularly while taking them to prevent prescription
dependence.

Different Theorists that talked about DPD

1. Sigmund Freud:
Researchers initially investigated Freud’s classic theory by examining his ideas about the
Oral Receptive Character. Researchers maintained that if oral receptive individuals are orally
fixated and later in their development become submissive and dependent on authority figures, as
Freud contended, then such individuals should show greater conformity, compliance, and
suggestibility to the demands of authority figures in a variety of situations.
Freud also claimed that not only oral receptive characters are highly dependent on others,
but they have strong needs for contact, affiliation, and nurturance. Research has provided
evidence of their needs for company and emotional support by showing that oral receptive types
tend to experience aversive arousal when socially isolated. Specifically, these researchers found
that people with oral dependency needs showed more anxiety when performing takes alone in a
soundproof chamber than when they performed them in the presence of others.

2. Alfred Adler:
Adler called his theory Individual Psychology because he believed that people were unique
and that no theory created before his applied to all people. Adler’s Personality Theory is similar
to that Freud’s Personality Theory except that Adler’s drive for human behavior is need to
overcome the feelings of inferiority. Inferiority is a feeling that humans feel since they are born.
They grow up being dependent on their parents and feeling like they cannot do anything on their
own. It is humans drive to overcome inferiority and become superior which causes humans to
act.
In Adler’s Psychological types, he talked about the Leaning Type, in which individuals are
sensitive, and while they may put a shell up around themselves to protect themselves, they end
up relying on others to carry them through life’s challenges. They lack energy, in essence, and
depend on the energy of others. They are also prone to phobias, anxieties, obsessions and
compulsions, general anxiety, dissociation, etc.

3. Karen Horney:
 Psychoanalytic theorist Karen Horney developed one of the best-known theories of
neurosis. She believed that neurosis resulted from basic anxiety caused by interpersonal
relationships.
In her book Self-Analysis (1942), Horney outlined the 10 neurotic needs she had identified,
out of which, one of them was The Neurotic need for a Partner who will take over one’s Life.
This involves the need to be centered on a partner. People with this need suffer extreme fear of
being abandoned by their partner. Oftentimes, these individuals place an exaggerated importance
on love and believe that having a partner will resolve all of life’s troubles.

4. Erich Fromm:
Fromm also believed that character is something deeply ingrained and difficult to change.
However, being aware of our tendencies and being committed to change can help inspire change.
Fromm believed that character is something that stems both from our genetic inheritance and
from our learning experiences. Some aspects of our character are hereditary. Other aspects stem
from what we learn at home, from school, and from society.
 One of the character type orientations, The Receptive Type is characterized by a need
for constant support from others. They tend to be passive, needy, and totally dependent
upon others. These people require constant support from family, friends, and others, but
they do not reciprocate this support. Receptive types also tend to lack confidence in their
own abilities and have a difficult time making their own decisions. Individuals who grow
up in households that are overbearing and controlling often tend to have this personality
orientation.
 A concept that Fromm talked about was being behind the boy’s tie to the mother on the
genital level exists a much deeper and more irrational tie. The infant boy or girl is tied to
mother as the life-giving, all-helping, all-protecting, all-loving figure
mother is  life, is security; she shields the child from the reality of the human situation,
which requires activity, making decisions, taking risks, being alone, and dying. Deeper
and still more irrational than the wish to be loved and protected by mother throughout life
is the craving to be one with her, to return to her womb, and eventually to undo the fact
of having been born; then the womb becomes the grave. (The Dielectic Revision of
Psychoanalysis)
 The personality disorders that Fromm explained, was Incestuous Symbiosis or an
extreme dependence on the mother or mother surrogate. Incestuous symbiosis is an
exaggerated form of the more common and more benign mother fixation. Men with a
mother fixation need a woman to care for them, dote on them, and admire them; they feel
somewhat anxious and depressed when their needs are not fulfilled. This condition is
relatively normal and does not greatly hiterfere with then daily life.

5. Erik Erikson:
Erik Erikson was an ego psychologist who developed one of the most popular and
influential theories of development. While his theory was impacted by psychoanalyst Sigmund
Freud's work, Erikson's theory centered on psychosocial development rather than psychosexual
development. He gave 8 stages of the personality development. In the first stage named as Trust
vs Mistrust, is all about developing a sense of trust about the world. Children are almost entirely
dependent upon others for their care and safety. It is during this stage that children build the
foundations of trust in the world.

In the second stage, Autonomy vs Shame and doubt, it is important for young children
to begin developing a sense of personal independence and control. As they learn to do things for
themselves, they establish a sense of control over themselves as well as some basic confidence in
their own abilities. Children who successfully complete this stage feel secure and confident,
while those who do not are left with a sense of inadequacy and self-doubt. But the children who
could not complete this stage successfully may tend to adopt a dependent behavior in the future
and also may fall towards Dependent Personality Disorder.

6. Raymond Cattell:
Cattell's personality factors have been included in the Sixteen Personality Factor
Questionnaire (16PF) that is widely used today. One of his personality traits includes, Self-
Reliance: Self-sufficient vs Dependent. He claimed in his Factor Q2: Self-Reliance Low
scorers prefer being around others and like to work in groups. Extremely low scorers, however,
often fail to work independently. High scorers enjoy spending time alone and prefer to rely on
their own thinking when making decisions. Extremely high scorers may have trouble working
collaboratively.
References:
Theories of Personality (Textbook by Richard M. Ryckman)
Theories of Personality (by Jess Feist & Gregory J. Feist)
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition: DSM-5 (Book by American
Psychiatric Association)
https://www.verywellmind.com/autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt-2795733
https://www.verywellmind.com/erik-eriksons-stages-of-psychosocial-development-2795740
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9783-dependent-personality-disorder
https://fromm-online.org/en/mutterbindung-bindung-an-mutter/
https://www.flandershealth.us/personality-2/incestuous-symbiosis.html
https://www.verywellmind.com/horneys-list-of-neurotic-needs-2795949
http://journalpsyche.org/alfred-adler-personality-theory/
https://sites.google.com/site/psychologyofpersonalityperiod8/home/psychodynamic-theories/adler-s-
personality-theory