The diagnosis of personality traits in "affective dependency": When the toxic bond is an expression of a personality disorder

• Main Author: Giulio Perrotta (Author)
• Format: Book
• Published: International Journal of Sexual and Reproductive Health Care - Peertechz Publications, 2021-09-14.
• Subjects: Research Article
• Online Access: Connect to this object online.

<p>Purpose: This research deals with the issue of dysfunctional personality traits in reference to affective dependency. In this research, the theme is aimed at the psychopathological investigation of personalities, according to the PICI-2 model and the PAD-Q, of all those subjects who with conscience and will complain of an emotional or sentimental relationship of a toxic or unhappy type with the partner. </p><p>Methods: Clinical interview and administration of the PICI-1 and PAD-Q.</p><p>Results: The use of the PAD-Q is functional to identify the dysfunctional personality traits that can explain the type of "affective dependency" of the patient; this indication must then always be compared with the data that emerged from the administration of the PICI-2 and the clinical interview, to ensure that the main disorder and the secondary ones are properly framed. The research on a population sample of 794 people demonstrated: 1) the affective dependency is to all effects a behavioral manifestation that cognitively represents a precise psychopathological trajectory grafted into a dysfunctional personality framework; 2) the erroneous placement of affective dependency among behavioral addictions is also confirmed here, as it is a psychopathological representation of a personality disorder to be identified and which pertains to one or more of these categories: a) affective-neurotic (anxious, maniacal, depressive or obsessive); b) dependent (dependent); c) histrionic (histrionic); d) masochist (masochist); e) borderline (bipolar and borderline); f) covert narcissist (covert narcissist); g) psychotic (psychopath, schizophrenic, schizoid, schizoaffective, schizotypic, dissociative).</p><p>Conclusions: The data emerging from the male population sample (336/794) finally show that only 12.5-20% have a clinically relevant diagnosis of "affective dependency" (these findings show that the toxicity of the affective-emotional-sentimental relationship is not attributed to a cause of affective dependence but rather to causes of another nature capable of interfering with the normal intimate relationship), while the female population (458/794) reports a clinically relevant value in 100% of the cases analyzed; however, it should be emphasized that this dependence dynamic represents a symptom of a specific personality disorder and therefore the dependency pattern becomes in the emotional relationship a real nourishing cause of the toxicity of the relationship, a sort of means to obtain a secondary benefit of nature dysfunctional -which feeds the psychopathology itself-, resistant even during psychotherapies possibly carried out by patients in the past.</p>