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Codependency has been defined as an unhealthy devotion to a relationship at the cost of ones personal and psychological needs College subjects completed questionnaires in order to examine associations between codependency, relationship quality, and personality characteristics As expected, codependency was associated with lower self-esteem and lower perceptions of interpersonal control. Going beyond prior research, codependency was found to be associated with greater self-consciousness, social anxiety, and dysfunctional attachment styles Although codependency was associated with greater empathic sharing of emotions it was not associated with increased feelings of connectedness caring, perspective taking, or supportiveness In fact, codependents reported less inclusion of other into self and more competitiveness with partners The results enlarge the traditional portrait of the codependent individual
The construct of codependency has been used to describe an individual's submersion in relationships at the cost of his or her own personal and psychological needs. While counselors and researchers recognize the implications of the construct for family and couple counseling, there is still debate about the nature and implications of the concept. The purpose of the present research is to reduce the confusion by examining relationships between codependency and other potentially relevant variables, including attachment styles, personality variables, and aspects of relationship quality and strength.
THE CONCEPT OF CODEPENDENCY
Codependency is defined by Laign (1989) as a pattern of compulsive behaviors that is motivated by a dependence on another's approval and is designed to find a sense of safety, identity, and self-worth. An essential characteristic of someone who is codependent is that they continually invest their self-esteem in the ability to control and influence behavior and feelings in others, as well as in themselves, even when faced with adverse consequences such as feelings of inadequacy after failure (Cermak,1991). In an attempt to control the emotions of a significant other, a codependent might continually cater to the needs of the other person, believing that person will be obligated to give the codependent the love that he or she wants. However, often the behaviors of the codependent are neglected or resented rather than rewarded by love. This in turn leads to feelings of inadequacy, a sense of having behaved inappropriately, and a sense of needing to do more. In order to cope with such painful situations, codependents...