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Dependent Personality Disorder
Dependent personality disorder (DPD), formerly known as asthenic personality disorder, is a personality disorder where the individual exhibits a major dependency of other people to meet their emotional, social and physical needs. This often leads to difficulties in social, sexual, and occupational functioning. The majority of people with DPD never fully achieve full independence.

Four components of Dependent personality disorder
Cognitive

The individual perceives themselves as powerless and ineffectual and see other people as more powerful and potent.

Motivational

Indiviual posses a desire to obtain and maintain relationships with their caregivers.

Behavioral.

Individual demonstrates a pattern of behaviour that decreases the possibility of abandonment and rejection while trying to strengthen interpersonal ties.

Emotional

Individual posses a fear of abandonment, fear of rejection, and anxiety when being evaluated by figures of authority.

Symptoms/Characteristics
People who have a Dependent personality disorder are overdependent on other people when it comes it making decisions. They cannot make a decision on their own as they need constant approval from other people. Consequently, individuals diagnosed with DPD tend to place needs and opinions of others above their own as they do not have the confidence to trust their decisions. This kind of behaviour can explain why people with DPD tend to show passive and clingy behaviour. These individuals display a fear of separation and cannot stand being alone. When alone they feel feelings of isolation and loneliness due to their overwhelming dependence of other people. Generally people with DPD are also pessimistic: they expect the worst out of situations or believe that the worst will happen. They tend to be more introverted and are more sensitive to criticism and fear rejection.

Risk factors
People with a history of neglect and an abusive upbringing are more susceptible to develop DPD, specifically those involved in long-term abusive relationship. Those with overprotective or authoritarian parents are also more at risk to develop DPD. Having a family history of anxiety disorder can play a role in the development of DPD as a 2004 twin study found a 0.81 heritability for DPD.

Epidemiology
Based on a recent survey of 43,093 Americans, 0.49% of adults meet diagnostic criteria for DPD (National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC; Grant et al., 2004). Traits related to DPD, like most personality disorders emerge in childhood or early adulthood. Findings from the NESArC study found that 18 - 29 year olds have a greater chance of developing DPD. DPD is more common among women compared to men as 0.6% of women have DPD compared to 0.4% of men. Gender. The prevalence of DPD in women is 0.6% and 0.4% in men (Grant et al., 2004).

Diagnosis
Diagnosis of DPD begins if all the symptoms of DPD are present, if so a doctor will evaluate the patient and conduct a series of thorough medical and psychiatric history exam. In some cases a basic physical exam will be done as well. Despite the fact that, laboratory tests specifically designed to diagnose personality disorders exist, a variety of diagnostic tests can be utilized to rule out physical illness as the cause of the symptoms.

A diagnosis of DPD must be distinguished from borderline personality disorder, as the two share common symptoms. In borderline personality disorder, the person responds to fears of abandonment with feelings of rage and emptiness. With DPD, the person responds to the fear with submissiveness and seeks another relationship to maintain his or her dependency. If most or all the (above) symptoms of DPD are present, the doctor will begin an evaluation by taking a thorough medical and psychiatric history and possibly a basic physical exam. Although there are no laboratory tests to specifically diagnose personality disorders, the doctor might use various diagnostic tests to rule out physical illness as the cause of the symptoms.

If the doctor finds no physical reason for the symptoms, he or she might refer the person to a psychiatrist, psychologist, or other health care professional trained to diagnose and treat mental illnesses. Psychiatrists and psychologists use specially designed interview and assessment tools to evaluate a person for a personality disorder.

Treatment

People who have DPD are generally treated with psychotherapy. The main goal of this therapy is to make the individual more independent and help them form healthy relationships with the people around them. This is done by improving their self-esteem and confidence.

Specific strategies might include assertiveness training to help the person with DPD develop self-confidence and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) to help someone develop new attitudes and perspectives about themselves relative to other people and experiences. More meaningful change in someone's personality structure usually is pursued through long-term psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy, where early developmental experiences are examined as they may shape the formation of defense mechanisms, coping styles, and patterns of attachment and intimacy in close relationships.

Medication might be used to treat people with DPD who also suffer from related problems such as depression or anxiety. However, medication therapy in itself does not usually treat the core problems caused by personality disorders. In addition, medications should be carefully monitored, because people with DPD could use them inappropriately or abuse certain prescription drugs.

https://www.webmd.com/anxiety-panic/guide/dependent-personality-disorder#1 https://www.healthline.com/health/dependent-personality-disorder#caregiving-and-support http://www.merckmanuals.com/en-ca/professional/psychiatric-disorders/personality-disorders/dependent-personality-disorder-dpd https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-0-387-28370-8_22