Potential Therapeutic Targets in People with Emotional Dependency

• Main Authors: Mariantonia Lemos, Andrés Miguel Vásquez, Juan Pablo Román-Calderón
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidad de San Buenaventura 2019-05-01
• Series: International Journal of Psychological Research
• Subjects: Dependency; Anxiety; Depression; Impulsivity; Structural Equation Models
• Online Access: https://revistas.usb.edu.co/index.php/IJPR/article/view/3627/3296

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.