Destructive Overdependence Research Articles

Intrapersonal dynamics of closeness versus distance: Qualities of the self-concept distinguish destructive overdependence, dysfunctional detachment, and healthy dependency.

People vary in the degree to which they affiliate with others; exaggerated efforts maintain interpersonal closeness versus distance are codified in longstanding categorical models of personality pathology, and in contemporary dimensional frameworks as well. To examine associations between destructive overdependence (DO), dysfuntional detachment (DD), and healthy dependency (HD) and qualities of the self-concept. A mixed-sex sample of 229 adults completed the Relationship Profile Test to assess DO, DD, and HD, and the Object Relations Inventory (ORI) to assess qualities of the self-concept. Analyses indicated that (1) the ORI Strong dimension was uniquely predictive of DO (inversely related); (2) ORI Warm and Nurturing were unique predictors of DD (both inversely related); and (3) ORI Nurturing and Successful were unique predictors of HD. This study illuminates key intrapersonal features of these three personality styles.

The smartphone as a “significant other”: interpersonal dependency and attachment in maladaptive smartphone and social networks use

Smartphones are increasingly widespread throughout the world and, although smartphones provide various benefits, excessive and maladaptive use is often reported. Given the penetration of smartphones in the individual’s daily life, it is relevant to identify the mechanisms sustaining their use, including the affective bond that the owner may develop with the device. The aim of the current study is to test a novel model to explain smartphone and Social Network Sites (SNS) use from an interpersonal perspective. We hypothesized that adult attachment style and interpersonal patterns (i.e., features of interpersonal dependency) generalize to the emotional bond with the mobile device, interacting with psychological correlates and background factors to predict smartphone and SNS consumption. 341 nonclinical adults (57.2% females; age M = 35.5, SD = 14.6) completed a battery consisting of the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Relationship Profile Test, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, the Young Adult Attachment to Phone Scale, and the Social Network Intensity and Social Network Access via Mobile phone Applications. A multi-mediation model supported the hypothesis regarding the influence of interpersonal style in the relationship of the individual with their smartphone and use of SNS. A parallel between attachment style and the emotional bond with the smartphone emerged, with anxious attachment style and destructive overdependence being potential risk factors for maladaptive smartphone use especially in individuals involved in a romantic relationship. Findings are discussed in terms of theoretical implications and intervention strategies towards smartphone dependency.

Intergenerational Trauma, Dependency, and Detachment.

The literature on intergenerational transmission of trauma is predominantly focused on the mental health functioning of children and grandchildren of trauma survivors. Research shows that having a traumatized parent is related to increased psychopathology and dysfunctional attachment patterns in the next generation, but little is known about the effects of parental trauma on other aspects of interpersonal relating. The current study addresses this gap. Participants were young adult students from an urban college; individual and parental trauma histories, and indices of unhealthy dependency, dysfunctional detachment, and healthy dependency, were obtained. Results indicated that a wide range of parental traumas were positively correlated with dysfunctional detachment, but not related to destructive overdependence or healthy dependency. These results suggest that a wide range of parental traumas have a negative impact on the next generation's interpersonal dependency by fostering a tendency to distance themselves from close relationships.

Dependency, Detachment, and Health-Related Behavior in Adult Primary Care Patients.

This investigation examined links between three related personality styles as assessed with the Relationship Profile Test-destructive overdependence, dysfunctional detachment, and healthy dependency-and indices of health and health-related behavior in a mixed-sex (74% female) sample of 100 primary care patients with a mean age of 38.62 (SD = 12.99). Fourteen primary care physicians also participated. As hypothesized, destructive overdependence and dysfunctional detachment scores were positively correlated with number of contacts with the emergency department; healthy dependency scores were inversely related to emergency department contacts and number of overnight hospitalizations. Healthy dependency scores were associated with an array of positive health behaviors; destructive overdependence scores were negatively associated with positive health behaviors. In addition, healthy dependency scores were inversely related to physician ratings of a difficult doctor-patient relationship. These results demonstrate that destructive overdependence, dysfunctional detachment and healthy dependency scores are associated in expected ways with indices of health and health-related behavior, and help illuminate the underlying factors that contribute to comparatively poor health and variations in health service use among overdependent and detached medical patients.

Italian Version of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT-I): Temporal Stability, Construct Validity, and Cross-Cultural Comparison

This study presents the adaptation to the Italian context of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand), a self-report measure of Destructive Overdependence (DO), Dysfunctional Detachment (DD), and Healthy Dependency (HD). The RPT was administered to a community sample of 661 nonclinical Italian adults together with the Attachment Style Questionnaire, the Relational-Interdependent Self-Construal Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, the Self-Compassion Scale, the Positive Affect-Negative Affect Scale, and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale. A randomly selected subset of participants (n = 67) completed the RPT again approximately 5 months after the first administration. The factor structure of the RPT obtained in the main sample was compared with that obtained in a sample of 603 adult participants from the US and was found to be similar. Internal consistency for DO, DD, and HD scores in the Italian sample fell between the acceptable to good range, and test-retest reliability coefficients were all above .70. The three scales yielded the expected pattern of correlations with theoretically related constructs, documenting good criterion validity. Findings are discussed in light of the literature on the RPT as a measure of interpersonal dependency and detachment. Suggestions for future research are offered.

The influence of the specificity of fundamental values on interpersonal dependence in friendships

The article is devoted to the problem of the influence of the specifics of fundamental values on the type of interpersonal dependence in friendly relations. The author shows the actualised need to consider behavioural dependences on the example of interpersonal dependence due to the lack of scientific knowledge in this area. The specificity of interrelationships between the aspects of four fundamental motivations and normative and non-normative types of interpersonal dependence is revealed. The author considers aspects of fundamental motivations as predictors of the types of interpersonal dependence, namely, destructive overdependence and healthy dependence. In conclusion, the author concludes that some aspects of fundamental values have a specific impact on the formation of interpersonal dependence in close friendships. The data obtained can contribute to the development of practical methods for the prevention of abnormal types of interpersonal dependence.

Guilt-riddenness as a predictor of interpersonal addiction and well-being in interpersonal relationships

The article is devoted to the problem of the conjugation of guilt feeling and interpersonal dependence. The author shows the actualised need to consider the aspect of personality dependent behaviour in connection with scarce knowledge in this area on the one hand and the emergence of new types of non-chemical dependence on the other. The specifics of the links of non-adaptive forms of guilt and interpersonal dependence are revealed. The author considers the irrational forms of guilt as a predictor of destructive types of interpersonal dependence, namely destructive overdependence and dysfunctional separation. In conclusion, the author states that some forms of non-adaptive guilt are predictors of destructive overdependence and dysfunctional separation. Also,.interpersonal dependence and irrational forms of guilt areassociated with psychological well-being. The author emphasises that the study is far from completion and requires a more detailed knowledge of both interpersonal dependence and non-adaptive forms of guilt.

Interpersonal dependence and differential types of reflection in students – boys and girls

The article presents results of the study of interpersonal dependence in the context of reflection as a necessary condition for personal autonomy and the mechanism of constructing and organizing a life perspective in adolescence.
 The psychological content of the phenomenon of interpersonal dependence is revealed, its destructive influence on the personality is emphasized, the positive role of reflection as a factor of actualization of the autonomy of the individual and the neutralization of interpersonal dependence is substantiated.
 The purpose of the study was to identify the relationship of interpersonal dependence and differential types of reflection in students – boys and girls.
 The scientific novelty of the research is determined by the fact that in the work for the first time the peculiarities of the functioning of interpersonal dependence and differential types of reflection on the students were determined, differences in the structure of the interrelationship between these phenomena in students – boys and girls were analyzed.
 The Interpersonal Dependency Inventory by R. M. A. Hirschfeld, Relationship Profile Test by R. F. Bornstein (both – in an adaptation by O. P. Makushina) and Differential Test of Reflexivity by D. A. Leontiev and E. M. Osin were applied to solve empirical problems. The sample consisted of 96 students of V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The first group included of 45 boys, the second – 51 girls. For the mathematical processing of data the Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used.
 It has been established that in both groups an increase in the propensity to unproductive types of reflection is a potential for the development of manifestations of interpersonal dependence. Both boys and girls, with increased introspection, there is an aggravation of destructive overdependence. It was also found that in young men the increase in such manifestations of interpersonal dependence, such as the need for emotional reliance on others, lack of self-confidence, and dependence in general, occurs along with the actualization of the tendency to introspection, while in girls – with the actualization of the tendency to quasi-reflection, together with than in these subjects, destructive overdependence grows. It should be noted that healthy dependence is involved in relationships with the differential types of reflection only in the group of girls, in which its severity increases with increasing ability to systemic reflection and inhibition of quasi-reflection.
 Results can be used for gender specification of psychological programs for the prevention and correction of interpersonal dependence in the students age. It is noted that the prospect of further research is to study the psychological characteristics that may act as inhibitors of interpersonal dependence in adolescence.

Interpersonal dependency and online gaming addiction.

Background and aimsThe present study explores the relationship between social motivations and addiction to online gaming and if that possible connection can be explained by the personality traits responsible for social functioning.MethodsWe employ Bernstein’s concept of interpersonal dependency to distinguish healthy dependency, dysfunctional detachment, and destructive overdependence, and Charlton and Danforth’s conceptualisation of online gaming addiction and high engagement. An online questionnaire was administered to a self-nominated sample of 4,074 online gamers. Two regression models were constructed to separately explain gaming addiction and high engagement using social motivations to play, while controlling for age, gender, and time spent online.ResultsHigh scores on subscales measuring dysfunctional detachment and destructive overdependence were positively associated with online gaming addiction, while healthy dependency was negatively correlated with addiction scores. In contrast, the overall role of social motivation was negligible.DiscussionPeople with healthy relationship profiles are less likely to develop problematic patterns of online gaming. High in-game engagement, although sharing some factors with addiction, was only poorly explained by the study variables, suggesting the mutual exclusiveness of addiction and engagement.

Correlates of interpersonal dependency and detachment in an adolescent inpatient sample.

Interpersonal dependency has been linked to psychological distress, depression, help seeking, treatment compliance, and sensitivity to interpersonal cues in adult samples. However, there is a dearth of research focusing on dependency in child and adolescent samples. The current study examined the construct validity of a measure of interpersonal dependency. The authors investigated how interpersonal dependency and detachment relate to behavioral problems, subjective well-being, interpersonal problems, and global symptom severity in adolescent inpatients. Destructive overdependence (DO) and dysfunctional detachment (DD) were positively related to interpersonal distress, behavioral problems, and symptom severity and negatively related to psychological health and well-being. Healthy dependency (HD) was associated with fewer behavioral problems and less symptom severity and positively related to subjective well-being. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Dependency, detachment and psychopathology in a nonclinical sample: General relations and gender differences. Is there a new line of inquiry on paranoid pathology?

In this study, both Bornstein's Relationship Profile Test (RPT) and Derogatis’ Symptom Ckeck List (SCL-90-R) were administered to a nonclinical sample of 119 subjects from Madrid (Spain). Healthy dependency, dysfunctional detachment and destructive overdependence (RPT subscales) were evaluated and correlated with SCL-90-R symptom dimensions. Destructive overdependence correlated positively with every SCL-90-R psychopathology dimension. On the contrary, healthy dependency correlated negatively with all these SCL-90-R dimensions. Gender differences were significant with regard to the correlation between dysfunctional detachment and paranoid ideation. In women dysfunctional detachment correlated positively with paranoid ideation, whereas in men the resultant correlation was negative and not significant. This gender difference in the relationship between dysfunctional detachment and paranoid ideation may suggest a new line of inquiry on paranoid pathology. Besides, the study explores the SCL-90-R psychopathology scores of several clusters of individuals with different profiles of dependency-detachment obtained from the RPT subscale scores.

A Comparative Psychosocial Frame of Happiness, Relationship and Narcissism of Varied Marital Status of Aged Men

An attempt has been made to provide an understanding of the personality profile of elderly males belonging to different marital status in terms of certain selected psychosocial correlates. The present study probes into the fact whether or not marital status acts as an inevitable determinant in influencing the personality content in terms of happiness, relationship, and narcissism of aged individuals. A total of two hundred elderly individuals (men) belonging to each group, namely, married, widower, divorcee, bachelor were assessed on the above mentioned variables by applying suitable standardized scales. Significant results were found out with respect to all the dimensions of selected variables. Profile differences among elderly personnel revealed that Married males have higher scores in happiness, healthy dependency, authority, self-sufficiency in comparison to the other counterparts namely widower, divorcee and bachelor aged. Bachelor aged receives the higher mean magnitude in case of destructive overdependence of relationship, superiority, exhibitionism, exploitativeness, vanity, entitlement and overall narcissism than divorcee, married and widower sub samples. On the criteria of dysfunctional detachment divorced aged positioned themselves at top than married, widower and bachelor counterparts. Widowers have lower scores in happiness, authority, self-sufficiency, vanity and overall narcissism than the other counterparts.

Social anxiety and depressive symptoms mediate instrumentality and maladaptive interpersonal styles

This study sought to examine the relationships between stereotypically masculine (instrumentality) and feminine (expressiveness) personality traits, social anxiety and depressive symptoms, and three interpersonal styles of relating: destructive overdependence (DO), dysfunctional detachment (DD), and healthy dependence (HD). Based on theories of social anxiety and recent research on social anxiety and close relationships, it is argued that individuals with higher levels of social anxiety would display greater detachment and overdependence in their interpersonal relationships. Students at an Australian university (n=524) completed a battery of online self-report measures. The findings suggest that low levels of instrumentality are related to social anxiety and depressive symptoms, which both mediate the relationship between instrumentality and the two maladaptive interpersonal styles of relating: DO and DD.

Healthy and Maladaptive Dependency and Its Relationship to Pain Management and Perceptions in Physical Therapy Patients

This study examined the association among healthy and maladaptive aspects of interpersonal dependency and the management of pain in physical therapy outpatients. Ninety-eight patients were administered the Relationship Profile Test, West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory, and Pain Catastrophizing Scale. Results indicated that Destructive Overdependence was positively associated with an increased number of office visits, pain interference in one's daily life, pain severity, affective distress, and receiving positive partner responses. Dysfunctional Detachment was associated with affective distress, pain interference in one's daily life, and rumination about pain. Healthy Dependency was only associated with receiving distracting responses from others. Believing that a spouse/partner is supportive and caring about one's pain partially mediated the relationship between overdependency and pain interfering in one's life. These results support the clinical utility of assessing interpersonal dependency for its relationship to managing one's pain and health care utilization.

Crying in Context: Understanding Associations With Interpersonal Dependency and Social Support

This study examines the associations among interpersonal dependency, social support, and crying proneness, since crying is a behavior that is particularly relevant to the affiliative interpersonal goals characterizing maladaptive forms of dependency (Keltner & Kring, 1998). Data were collected from 305 first-year university students (M age = 18 years). A series of hierarchical linear regressions, controlling for gender, commuting status, romantic relationship status, stress, loneliness, and depressive symptoms, partially supported our hypotheses. That is, we found that a measure of maladaptive dependency (destructive overdependence, or DO) and crying proneness were positively correlated, and that DO moderated the associations between social support and crying proneness. Specifically, we found that social support and crying were more closely positively associated among individuals high on DO compared to individuals low on DO. Our findings imply that interpersonal dependency may be an important factor in understanding individual differences in crying, and in determining whether crying is a successful elicitor of social support.

Manifestations of interpersonal dependency and depressive subtypes in outpatient psychotherapy patients

The present study investigated the relationship between normative and pathological dependency and anaclitic and introjective depressive experiences among 71 patients participating in outpatient psychotherapy at a university-based psychology clinic. We examined the interrelationships among the Relationship Profile Test subscales, the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire subscales and the Outcome Questionnaire-45.2. Results indicated that destructive overdependence was positively correlated with anaclitic and introjective depression and negatively correlated with overall perceptions of mental health. Dysfunctional detachment was positively correlated with introjective depression and negatively correlated with generalized perceptions of one's own mental health. Healthy dependency was negatively correlated with introjective depression and positively correlated with mental health. These results not only support the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test but also shed light on a link between depression, dependence and self-criticism.

Sexual and Physical Aggression Involve Different Relationship Dynamics

We assessed differences in relationship functioning in physically and in sexually aggressive student men and women. Forty-seven university students in beginning psychology classes completed the Bornstein Relationship Profile Test (RPT) and the Revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2) for partners and for others. The RPT categorizes people on dependency-detachment and yields three subscales: Destructive Overdependence, Dysfunctional Detachment, and Healthy Dependency. The CTS2 measures both the extent of to-partner and to-other aggression and the use of physical and sexual aggression in dealing with conflict. Students who were sexually aggressive toward partners and/or others had lower scores on Bornstein’s Healthy Dependence scale than those who were not sexually aggressive, F(1,43) = 6.57, p = .01.

Construct Validity of the Schwartz Outcome Scale

The Schwartz Outcome Scale-10 (SOS-10) is a 10-item self-report that measures quality of life and psychological well-being. It is easy to administer and score, and past research has revealed its utility, validity, and reliability with different samples (i.e., clinical and nonclinical) and in different clinical settings (i.e., inpatient, outpatient, nonpsychiatry medical settings). The present study looks to investigate the utility of the SOS-10 in measuring psychological well-being and quality of life with the 28-day inpatient chemical dependency sample. In addition, the current study looks to investigate its ability to be used as a treatment outcome measure for chemical-dependent inpatients. The results revealed that the SOS-10 was associated with aspects of interpersonal dependency and alexithymia in predicted ways. The SOS-10 was positively associated to "Healthy Dependence" and negatively related to alexithymia and "Destructive Overdependence" and "Dysfunctional Detachment." The results also showed that the SOS-10 showed healthy change from admission to discharge and that this change was paralleled by healthy change in interpersonal dependency and alexithymia.

Convergent and divergent validity of the relationship profile test: investigating the relationship with attachment, interpersonal distress and psychological health

The present study looked to illustrate the convergent and divergent validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT), which is a 30-item self-report measuring destructive overdependence, dysfunctional detachment, and healthy dependence. The RPT items are written to draw upon Bornstein's (19921993) 4-component model as well as other essential components of the dimension in question (Bornstein et al., 2003). The results reveal that the subscales of the RPT are related in predictable ways to scores on measures of adult attachment, interpersonal distress, and psychological health and well-being. The clinical implications of the results and the assessment of dependency in the clinical setting are discussed.

Construct Validity of the Relationship Profile Test: Correlates of Overdependence, Detachment, and Healthy Dependency in Low Income Urban Women Seeking Medical Services

Studies have documented the construct validity of Bornstein and Languirand's (2003) Relationship Profile Test (RPT) in college students, psychotherapy patients, and nursing home residents, but no studies have examined the utility of RPT Destructive Overdependence (DO), Dysfunctional Detachment (DD), and Healthy Dependency (HD) scores in community samples. To fill this gap, we assessed links between RPT scores and theoretically related variables in low income urban women seeking medical services (N = 110), obtaining predicted links between RPT scores and scores on measures of childhood abuse and neglect, adult attachment style, conflict-resolution tactics involving a domestic partner, Axis I symptomatology, and overall quality of life. Comparison of RPT means in this sample with those in Bornstein et al.'s (2003) college student sample yielded differences that were generally in line with expectations. These results support the construct validity of RPT scores in urban women and suggest that the RPT may be a useful index of DO, DD, and HD in this heretofore unexamined population.