A Measure of Interpersonal Dependency

TLDR

Interpersonal dependency is a complex of thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors centered on the need to associate closely with valued others, and existing self‑report inventories fail to capture it adequately. The authors created a new 48‑item self‑report inventory to assess interpersonal dependency in adults. The inventory was cross‑validated on two additional samples comprising 220 normals and 180 psychiatric patients. Three factors emerged—emotional reliance, lack of social self‑confidence, and assertion of autonomy—and their relationships with normals, patients, attachment, and dependency were discussed.

Abstract

Abstract Interpersonal dependency refers to a complex of thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and behaviors revolving around needs to associate closely with valued other people. Its conceptual sources include the psychoanalytic theory of object relations, social learning theories of dependency, and the ethological theory of attachment. A review of existing self-report inventories revealed none that adequately assessed interpersonal dependency. A new 48-item self-report inventory which assesses interpersonal dependency in adults was developed, using a sample of 220 normals and 180 psychiatric patients. It was cross-validated on two additional samples. Three components of interpersonal dependency emerged: emotional reliance on another person, lack of social self-confidence, and assertion of autonomy. The relationship of these components with normals and patients was discussed, as well as with the concepts of attachment and dependency.