Active dependency.
Although dependency has long been associated with passivity, weakness, and submissiveness, a review of the empirical literature reveals that, in certain situations and settings, dependent persons actually exhibit a variety of active, assertive behaviors. In this article, I: a) trace the historical roots of the dependency-passivity link; b) review empirical studies from developmental, social, and clinical psychology which indicate that, in certain circumstances, dependency is associated with active, assertive behavior on the part of the dependent person; c) offer an alternative conceptual model of dependency that accounts for the entire range of behaviors-both passive and active-that are exhibited by the dependent person; and d) discuss the diagnostic and therapeutic implications of this alternative conceptual model of dependency.
Department of Psychology, Gettysburg College, Pennsylvania 17325.
R F
RF
Bornstein
D000328:Adult; D001242:Assertiveness; D002657:Child Development; D003858:Dependency, Psychological; D003859:Dependent Personality Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D009769:Object Attachment; D012951:Socialization; D009626:Terminology as Topic