Construct Validity of the Relationship Profile Test: Impact of Gender, Gender Role, and Gender Role Stereotype

Intrapersonal dynamics of closeness versus distance: Qualities of the self-concept distinguish destructive overdependence, dysfunctional detachment, and healthy dependency

INTRODUCTION

People vary in the degree to which they affiliate with others; exaggerated efforts maintain interpersonal closeness versus distance are codified in longstanding categorical models of personality pathology, and in contemporary dimensional frameworks as well.

OBJECTIVE

To examine associations between destructive overdependence (DO), dysfuntional detachment (DD), and healthy dependency (HD) and qualities of the self-concept.

METHOD

A mixed-sex sample of 229 adults completed the Relationship Profile Test to assess DO, DD, and HD, and the Object Relations Inventory (ORI) to assess qualities of the self-concept.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION

Analyses indicated that (1) the ORI Strong dimension was uniquely predictive of DO (inversely related); (2) ORI Warm and Nurturing were unique predictors of DD (both inversely related); and (3) ORI Nurturing and Successful were unique predictors of HD. This study illuminates key intrapersonal features of these three personality styles.

Assessing the Impact of Relationship Profile Test Scores, Self-Identified Ethnic Group, and Gender on Adult Attachment Style

Research shows that the subscales of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT) are related to adult attachment. Gender differences have been implicated, but findings are inconsistent in terms of replication. A limited amount of research has been conducted on ethnic differences in the context of interpersonal dependency. This study aims to bridge the gap in the literature in terms of using the RPT to predict attachment styles and to assess gender and ethnic group differences in RPT scores. Four samples from various treatment settings were combined to yield a heterogeneous group of ethnically diverse men and women (N = 470) with a mean age of 31.96. No gender differences were observed; however, ethnic differences were noted, with the RPT scales predicting unique variance in secure and insecure attachment styles. This study evidences the incremental validity of the RPT scales when predicting adult attachment style with consideration of ethnic group differences, which can help inform the treatment and assessment process.

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.

Correlates of interpersonal dependency and detachment in an adolescent inpatient sample

Interpersonal dependency has been linked to psychological distress, depression, help seeking, treatment compliance, and sensitivity to interpersonal cues in adult samples. However, there is a dearth of research focusing on dependency in child and adolescent samples. The current study examined the construct validity of a measure of interpersonal dependency. The authors investigated how interpersonal dependency and detachment relate to behavioral problems, subjective well-being, interpersonal problems, and global symptom severity in adolescent inpatients. Destructive overdependence (DO) and dysfunctional detachment (DD) were positively related to interpersonal distress, behavioral problems, and symptom severity and negatively related to psychological health and well-being. Healthy dependency (HD) was associated with fewer behavioral problems and less symptom severity and positively related to subjective well-being. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

Construct Validity of the Relationship Profile Test: Links With Measures of Psychopathology and Adult Attachment

This study assessed the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand, 2003 ) with a substance abuse sample. One hundred-eight substance abuse patients completed the RPT, Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Short Form (Wei, Russell, Mallinckrodt, & Vogel, 2007 ), Personality Assessment Inventory (Morey, 1991 ), and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (Derogatis, 1983 ). Results suggest that the RPT has good construct validity when compared against theoretically related broadband measures of personality, psychopathology, and adult attachment. Overall, health dependency was negatively related to measures of psychopathology and insecure attachment, and overdependence was positively related to measures of psychopathology and attachment anxiety. Many of the predictions regarding RPT detachment and the criterion measures were not supported. Implications of these findings are discussed.

The complex role of personality in cancer treatment: impact of dependency-detachment on health status, distress, and physician-patient relationship

Personality traits have been associated with positive and negative adjustment to a cancer diagnosis. No studies have assessed trait dependency and detachment and their relationship to health, distress, and the doctor-patient relationship in patients undergoing radiation treatment for cancer. Fifty adults (32 women; mean [SD], 60.32 [12.74] years) undergoing radiation treatment for a variety of cancers completed measures of dependency and detachment, doctor-patient relationship, physical health, somatization, anxiety, and depression. Overdependence scores were positively and significantly correlated with patients' anxiety and negatively and significantly correlated with the physician-patient relationship. Detachment scores were positively and significantly correlated with pain, somatization, depression, and anxiety and marginally associated with lower health-related quality of life. These preliminary findings support the construct validity and clinical utility of trait dependency and detachment testing with oncology patients and suggest that detachment is associated with poorer quality of life and higher psychological distress, whereas dependency is associated with poorer doctor-patient relationships after a cancer diagnosis.

Extending the construct validity of dependency among conjugally bereaved adults

The Relationship Profile Test is a widely used measure of dependency, detachment, and healthy dependency that has been examined in both clinical and nonclinical settings, though researchers have yet to validate this measure among conjugally bereaved adults. The present study examines the construct validity of a three-facet model of dependency-detachment by comparing relationships among self-report, semistructured interview-rated, and knowledgeable informant-rated functioning among conjugally bereaved adults. Participants (N = 112) included bereaved adults (M = 51.1 years; SD = 9.7) who had experienced the loss of a spouse 1.5 to 3 years prior to taking part in this study. Findings indicate adequate psychometric properties and theoretically expected associations with various measures of wellness and health including satisfaction with life, coping flexibility, somatic complaints, and ego resiliency. Results draw attention to adaptive correlates of dependency, suggesting potentially beneficial mental health interventions.

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.

Physical health correlates of pathological and healthy dependency in urban women

This study assessed the relationship between dependency and indicators of health/illness, healthcare costs, and utilization. Dependency ratings were obtained using the Relationship Profile Test (Bornstein and Languirand, 2003), a questionnaire that assesses healthy and pathological dependency: destructive overdependence (DO), dysfunctional detachment (DD), and healthy dependency (HD). The sample consisted of primarily low-income, African-American, and female primary care patients (N = 110). DO and DD were significantly associated with indices of increased illness, with DO evidencing slightly larger effect sizes than DD. HD was significantly (negatively) associated with 1 health/illness variable. DD and DO were associated with higher total outpatient costs with DD also being associated with average costs per visit. DO and HD were associated with utilization (increased hospital days and fewer emergency room visits, respectively). Further research is recommended to inform researchers and clinicians about the dependency-illness relationship and to develop interventions that maximize HD and minimize pathological dependency.

Expanding the Construct Validity of the Relationship Profile Test: Associations With Physical Health and Anaclitic and Introjective Traits

The authors examined the construct validity of the Relationship Profile Test (RPT) with respect to measures of two related constructs—physical health and well-being (functional health status), and depression-linked personality type (anaclitic vs. introjective). In Study 1, the authors administered the RPT, Depressive Experiences Questionnaire (DEQ), and Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (MOS SF-20) to 116 undergraduate students. In Study 2, the RPT, DEQ, and MOS SF-20 were administered to 110, mostly African American female, primary care outpatients. Destructive Overdependence was positively correlated with anaclitic and introjective trait scores in both samples. Dysfunctional Detachment was positively correlated with introjective scores in both samples and with anaclitic scores in the primary care sample. Healthy Dependency was negatively correlated with introjective scores in both samples and with anaclitic scores in the primary care sample. These studies support the construct validity of the RPT in ethnically diverse nonclinical and clinical samples, and extend previous findings documenting links between RPT subscale scores and scores on measures of other theoretically related constructs.

The adaptive and maladaptive faces of dependency in later life: links to physical and psychological health outcomes

OBJECTIVES

Negotiating the balance between reliance on others and desires for autonomy is a fundamental task of successful aging. The purpose of the present study was to replicate and extend a three-factor model of interpersonal dependency in a sample of older adults, and to examine the physical and psychological health correlates of this multifaceted construct.

METHODS

Data come from the third wave of a population-based study of older Americans (n = 166; mean age 80 years). We conducted an exploratory factor analysis of selected dependency items from two scales, and then conducted logistic and hierarchical linear regressions to analyze the association of dependency factors with self-reported health, use of hypertension medication, depressed affect and positive affect.

RESULTS

We found three factors closely paralleling those of Bornstein and Languirand's (Psychological Bulletin, 112(1), 3-23, 2004) measure: destructive overdependence, healthy dependency and dysfunctional detachment, as well as a fourth factor we labeled 'healthy independence'. Healthy dependency was associated with better self-reported health. Dysfunctional detachment was related to a greater likelihood and healthy independence a lesser likelihood of taking hypertension medication. Whereas both healthy independence and healthy dependency were positively related to positive affect and negatively related to depressed affect, destructive overdependence was positively related to depressed affect.

CONCLUSION

Understanding the complex nature of interpersonal dependency and autonomy in old age, as well as their implications for health and wellbeing, may enable practitioners to assist older adults in negotiating the task of balancing these needs.

Construct validity of the relationship profile test: three-year retest reliability and links with core personality traits, object relations, and interpersonal problems

The Relationship Profile Test (RPT; Bornstein & Languirand, 2003) is a 30-item self-report measure of destructive overdependence, dysfunctional detachment, and healthy dependency. Previous research has shown that the 3 RPT subscales have adequate internal consistency, good retest reliability over 23 and 85 weeks, and good convergent and discriminant validity with respect to measures of attachment style, relatedness, gender role, self-concept, alexithymia, locus of control, need for approval, and life satisfaction. In this investigation, we assessed the 3-year retest reliability of RPT scores in a northeastern liberal arts college student sample (Study 1) and evaluated the convergent and discriminant validity of RPT scores in a southern university sample (Study 2). Results generally supported the long-term stability and convergent and discriminant validity of RPT scores but also pointed to some limitations of the measure. We discuss implications of these results and describe future research directions.