Self-schema priming and desire for test performance feedback: Further evaluation of a cognitive/interactionist model of interpersonal dependency

Predictors of Cinderella Syndrome and Wendy Syndrome in women: Attachment styles and differentiation of self

Through the fairy tale heroes, beautiful woman image, mother image, independent woman image, and passive woman image are created. While Cinderella syndrome is a concept which is used to define woman who fear from being independent, Wendy syndrome describes women who acted as mother to their husbands or people close to them. The aim of this research is to examine the relationships between Cinderella Syndrome, Wendy Syndrome, attachment styles and differentiation of self in women. 521 adult women between 18 and 65 ages completed the questionnaire including Cinderella Syndrome Scale, Wendy Syndrome Scale, Three Dimensional Attachment Styles Scale and Discrimination of Self Scale. Results revealed that there is a positive and significant correlation between Cinderella Syndrome and Wendy Syndrome. Wendy Syndrome, differentiation of self and avoidant attachment variables, respectively, predicts Cinderella Syndrome in women. Wendy Syndrome is predicted by the variables of differentiation of self, Cinderella Syndrome and anxious/ambivalent attachment respectively. The study highlights predictors of Cinderella and Wendy Syndrome and makes important contributions to the relevant literature by providing a better understanding of Cinderella Syndrome and Wendy Syndrome in women.

Self-compassion mediates the link between dependency and depressive symptomatology in college students

Depression is highly prevalent among college students and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Dependency is among the known personality traits that predict an elevated risk for depression. Prior research has focused on the depressogenic role of self-critical thoughts among destructive overdependent (DO) individuals but has not considered other internal processes (such as self-compassion) that might influence mental health. The current report examined whether self-compassion had either moderating or mediating effects on the links between dependency and depression in college students. In a cross-sectional study, 85 college students completed measures of dependency, self-compassion, and depressive symptoms. Analyses suggested that self-compassion mediated both the effect of DO on depressive symptoms and the effect of healthy dependency (HD) on lower depressive symptoms; self-compassion did not moderate links between dependency and depressive symptoms. Our exploratory findings suggest that positive self-schema (in the form of self-compassion) may contribute to the downstream mental health effects of both adaptive HD and maladaptive DO.

Personality Assessment in the Diagnostic Manuals: On Mindfulness, Multiple Methods, and Test Score Discontinuities

Recent controversies have illuminated the strengths and limitations of different frameworks for conceptualizing personality pathology (e.g., trait perspectives, categorical models), and stimulated debate regarding how best to diagnose personality disorders (PDs) in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.), and in other diagnostic systems (i.e., the International Classification of Diseases, the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual). In this article I argue that regardless of how PDs are conceptualized and which diagnostic system is employed, multimethod assessment must play a central role in PD diagnosis. By complementing self-reports with evidence from other domains (e.g., performance-based tests), a broader range of psychological processes are engaged in the patient, and the impact of self-perception and self-presentation biases can be better understood. By providing the assessor with evidence drawn from multiple modalities, some of which provide converging patterns and some of which yield divergent results, a multimethod assessment compels the assessor to engage this evidence more deeply. The mindful processing that ensues can help minimize the deleterious impact of naturally occurring information processing bias and distortion on the part of the clinician (e.g., heuristics, attribution errors), bringing greater clarity to the synthesis and integration of assessment data.

From Dysfunction to Adaptation: An Interactionist Model of Dependency

Contrary to clinical lore, a dependent personality style is associated with active as well as passive behavior and may be adaptive in certain contexts (e.g., in fostering compliance with medical and psychotherapeutic treatment regimens). The cognitive/interactionist model conceptualizes dependency-related responding in terms of four components: (a) motivational (a marked need for guidance, support, and approval from others); (b) cognitive (a perception of oneself as powerless and ineffectual); (c) affective (a tendency to become anxious when required to function autonomously); and (d) behavioral (use of diverse self-presentation strategies to strengthen ties to potential caregivers). Clinicians' understanding of the etiology and dynamics of dependency has improved substantially in recent years; current challenges include delineating useful subtypes of dependency, developing valid symptom criteria for Dependent Personality Disorder in DSM-5 and beyond, and working effectively with dependent patients in the age of managed care.

An Interactionist Perspective on Interpersonal Dependency

Interpersonal dependency—the tendency to look to others for nurturance, guidance, protection, and support, even in situations where autonomous functioning is possible—has become associated with passivity, immaturity, and dysfunction in the minds of mental health professionals. However, research suggests that dependent persons behave quite actively—even aggressively—in certain contexts. Although dependency is associated with certain forms of dysfunction (e.g., perpetration of domestic violence when close relationships are threatened), it is also linked with an array of adaptive behaviors (e.g., conscientiousness in complying with medical and psychotherapeutic treatment regimens). The cognitive/interactionist (C/I) model of interpersonal dependency provides a framework for understanding contextual variations in dependency-related responding: Although dependent behaviors vary from situation to situation based on perceived opportunities and risks, the dependent person’s core beliefs (a perception of oneself as helpless and weak) and motives (a desire to strengthen ties to potential caregivers) remain constant. Here I discuss theoretical and practical implications of the C/I model and summarize current trends in research on interpersonal dependency.