Evidence of codependency in women with an alcoholic parent

Helping out Mr. Wrong

Bibliographic Data

ID10157718
AuthorsDeborah S Lyon (University of Arizona, corresponding author), Deborah Lyon, Jeff Greenberg (0000-0002-2206-0771)
Year1991
Volume61
Issue3
Pages435-439
Publication date1991-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Personality and Social Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-3514 • E-ISSN: 1939-1315
PublisherAmerican Psychological Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1037//0022-3514.61.3.435
PMID1941514
OpenAlexW4233758490
LanguageEN
Citations received12
References cited6

A conceptualization of codependency and its development, which is based largely on the writings of Karen Horney, is presented. It is proposed that having learned to obtain approval and self-esteem by conforming to the demands of an exploitive person, women with alcoholic parents will continue to seek opportunities to help such people. On the basis of this analysis, it was hypothesized that women with alcoholic parents would be more helpful to an experimenter portrayed as exploitive than to one portrayed as nurturant; women with nonalcoholic parents were expected to exhibit the opposite pattern. The results strongly supported the existence of codependent behavior in the women with alcoholic parents. The implication of these findings and directions for future research were briefly discussed

Conceptualization · Developmental psychology · Psychoanalysis · Psychotherapist · Clinical Psychology · Family Support in Illness · Homelessness and Social Issues · Prenatal Substance Exposure Effects · Psychology · Social Psychology · Substance Abuse Treatment and Outcomes