Potential Therapeutic Targets in People with Emotional Dependency.

OBJECTIVE

To examine the relationship between the components of emotional dependency (ED) with anxious, depressive, and impulsive symptomatology.

METHOD

98 university students (68% women, age M = 20.2 years, ED = 2.19) responded to the ED Questionnaire (EDQ) (Lemos & Londoño, 2006), the Beck Depression Inventory II (Beck, Steer, & Brown, 2011), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (Beck & Steer, 2011), and the short version of the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale BIS-15S (Spinella, 2007).

RESULTS

The structural model indicated that a fear of being alone is associated with separation anxiety, which in turn gives rise to plan modification (PM), search for emotional expression (SEE) and attention-seeking (AS). We found that PM was associated with depression, SEE with anxiety, and that impulsivity could lead to AS.

CONCLUSION

These results identify potential therapeutic targets in people with ED.