Definition
Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD) is a clinical disorder characterized by persistent, excessive reliance on others for emotional support and guidance, extreme fear of separation, and pervasive self-doubt about one’s ability to function autonomously. Clinging, submissive relationships across contexts emerge in early adulthood. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association 2013) criteria include:
Difficulty making decisions, and initiating and completing tasks independently
Requiring others to assume responsibility for major areas of life, fearing inability to meet own needs
Going to extreme lengths to sustain nurturance and support, avoiding disagreement with others
Feeling uncomfortable or helpless alone, urgently seeking another when a close relationship ends
Categorization
The disorder is classified with the Cluster C Personality Disorders in DSM-5.
Current Knowledge
Prevalence
Prevalence estimates are around...
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Rolston, C. (2018). Dependent Personality Disorder. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_9205
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_9205
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