Question

Give two causes and two symptoms of the following:

Dependent personality disorder

Answer 1

Dependent Personality Disorder (According to DSM-IV-TR) Symptoms :

A pervasive and excessive need to be taken care of that leads to submissive and clinging behaviour and fear of separation as indicated by at least five of the following :

1. Difficulty making everyday decisions without advice or assurance from others.
2. Need others to take responsibility for major areas of life.
3. Difficulty expressing disagreement with others because of fear of loss of support.
4. Difficulty initiating project.
5. Goes to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance or support from others.
6. Feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone.
7. Urgently seeks another relationship when a close one ends.
8. Unrealistic preoccupation with fears of being left to take care of himself/herself.

Causes:
Biological factors:
1. Genetic and personality factors: There may be a very small genetic influence on a dependent personality trait. Personality traits such as neuroticism and agreeableness are predominant in dependant personality disorder, have a genetic component.

Psycho-social factors:
1. Environmental factors:  People with partially genetic based predisposition to dependence and anxiousness may be prone to adverse effects of parents who are authoritarian and over protective (not promoting autonomy and individuation) in their child, instead reinforcing dependent behaviour.

2. Cognitive factors- Cognitive theorists describe the underlying maladaptive schemas as involving core beliefs about weakness and competence and needing others to survive such as “I am completely helpless”, “I can function only if I have access to somebody competent”.