Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD) is a neurological condition that leaves sufferers unable to function normally due to their need to be taken care of and excessive reliance on regard for the affirmation of their peers to make seemingly ordinary life choices. . It is known that humans generally value the opinions of their peers (Hughes, Leong, Shiv, & Zaki, 2018), but people with this disorder lack autonomy to the point of developing potentially harmful symptoms and habits due to the related anxiety. take care of yourself. Some of these habits, as described in the DSM-IV, include "pessimism and self-doubt," "[the tendency] to belittle [one's] abilities and strengths," and a tendency to "consider oneself stupid." (American Psychiatric Association, 2000). , p.666). Such habits indicate a poor self-image for the person suffering from DPD, and this disorder causes them to rely increasingly on the approval of others to maintain a sense of belonging. Such a need to belong may lead the victim to engage in potentially dangerous relationships that could become overprotective and controlling, simply to compensate for the anxiety they may feel about being alone (DSM-IV- TR, 2000, p. 666). The dangers of these types of relationships go beyond mental health; people with DPD who find themselves in a system that encourages brutality or abuse will refuse to leave and thus force themselves to suffer the violence inflicted on them or potentially feel that they must inflict violence on others. Such abuse may include suffering "verbal, physical, or sexual abuse" (DSM-IV-TR, 2000, p. 666), as well as remaining in relationships where the balance of power is very clearly shifted toward the aggressor rather than towards the other. victim. Such unfortunate acts are enabled by those affected because of the intense need to maintain these relationships - however damaging they may be - perhaps because for them the alternative is much worse. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay. Dependent personality disorder shares many qualities and has comorbidity with other mood disorders such as borderline and avoidant personality disorders (DSM-IV-TR, 2000). , p.667). Comorbidity is defined by Bornstein (1995) as the co-occurrence of symptoms among different disorders, and although he points out that psychiatric usage of the term has a looser definition than medical terminology, the essential definition remains the same (e.g., 288). ). Research has shown that DPD actually has comorbidity with DSM-IV Axis I disorders, and it has been stated that "significant positive correlations [can be] found between DPD symptom severity and the severity of eating disorder symptoms” (Bornstein, 1995, p. 291). Therefore, it has been shown that the intense need for care and feelings of inadequacy that people with DPD struggle with can coincide with the fatigue and decreased appetite that people with DPD may experience. eating disorder. Additionally, DPD shares comorbidity with Axis II disorders, namely borderline, avoidant, and schizoid personality disorders (Bornstein, 1995, p. 293). The links between these disorders are quite tangible, with the majority of these disorders making victims fear abandonment and adopting self-destructive behaviors. It is because of these similarities that those responsible for diagnosing DPD in individuals mustbe wary of parallels with other Axis I and II disorders. For example, many personality disorders can be diagnosed by dependent behavior and excessive reliance on others. However, dependent personality disorder is unique because of the highly submissive behavior patterns exhibited by those affected (DSM-IV-TR, 2000, p. 667). ). Additionally, people with DPD respond differently to feelings of abandonment; an example given in the DSM-IV (2000) is that of a person with a borderline personality disorder reacting to the loss of a relationship with "feelings of emotional emptiness, rage, and demands" while a person with of DPD will react with “increasing appeasement and submission” (p. 667). According to various sources, it appears that the cause of DPD is still a bit of a mystery. However, one potential cause proposed by Ploskin (2017) is that people with this disorder are born with "an innate biological temperament, sometimes called danger avoidance" that causes the person to worry about outcomes that an average person might not. not know. These high levels of stress are characteristic of other illnesses such as generalized anxiety disorder, and this shared fear of seemingly ordinary events could potentially explain the common features of DPD and other Axis I disorders. Ploskin ( 2017) also highlights a tendency for families of people with DPD to "overcontrol their children and discourage their independence", thereby creating an environment in which dependence is simply natural and not the product of genetic predisposition. This style of overparenting, coupled with some of the anxiety-like symptoms mentioned previously, could plausibly lead someone to become dependent on authority figures in their life and develop dependent personality disorder. Considering outside influences, it is important to note that the diagnosis of DPD has a lot to do with an individual's culture and environment. The DSM-IV (2000) states that “age and cultural factors should be considered when evaluating the diagnostic threshold for each criterion” (p. 667). This essentially means that what qualifies as dependent behavior in a society that promotes self-reliance like that of the United States could potentially be considered normal in more collectivist societies. For example, a behavior that may be considered overly dependent in an individualistic society but normal in a collectivist society would be allowing parents to decide with whom they should engage in a romantic relationship and eventually marry. Arranged marriages are common in countries like Pakistan and Afghanistan and therefore cannot be considered an overly dependent behavior in these cultures. Therefore, a diagnosis of DPD must indicate that the person's fears of abandonment are exorbitant and unfounded given their current cultural and personal situation (DSM-IV-TR, 2000, p. 667). Beitz & Bornstein (year) propose a guideline for detecting and diagnosing DPD which is guided by the following three principles: "addiction is not always characterized by passivity", "self-assessments do not always give a clear picture true” and “dependence levels vary over time and across situations” (p. 232). The first principle of dependence reminds us that while passivity is a fairly common sign of dependence, it is not the only form it takes. An addicted person may also maintain a relationship they feel is necessary through intimidation and threats (Beitz and Bornstein, year, p. 232). This may be particularly the case.).