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Interpersonal Variability in Dependent Personality
Author(s) -
Pincus Aaron L.,
Wilson Kelly R.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/1467-6494.00143
Subject(s) - psychology , loneliness , personality , trait , interpersonal communication , developmental psychology , personality assessment inventory , clinical psychology , interpersonal relationship , personality disorders , social psychology , computer science , programming language
The interpersonal circumplex (IPC) was recommended as a personality trait dimensional model with good potential to identify the phenomenological scope of personality disorders whose core dysfunction involves maladaptive expression of interpersonal traits. The IPC was then applied to the reconceptualization of dependent personality and dependent personality disorder. In Study 1, Pincus and Gurtman’s (1995) three interpersonal vectors of dependency were validated via factor analyses conducted on two large samples (N = 921; N = 472) and a reliable self‐report measure, the 3 Vector Dependency Inventory (3VDI) was constructed. In Study 2, two samples (N = 103; N = 122) of individuals identified as predominantly endorsing submissive dependence, exploitable dependence, love dependence, or who were low in aspects of dependency were compared via ANOVA and chi‐square analyses on parental representations, adult attachment styles, loneliness, and pathological attachment. Submissive dependence was associated with higher scores on maladaptive constructs (fearful attachment, pathological attachment, and loneliness) and was also associated with lower parental affiliation and higher maternal control. Love dependence was associated with lower scores on maladaptive constructs and higher scores on secure attachment and parental affiliation. Variability in dependent phenomenology was related to its three component traits. Multiple perspectives on integrating love dependence, exploitable dependence, and submissive dependence into a reconceptualization of dependent personality disorder were articulated.