Co-dependency: an empirical study from a systemic perspective

To empirically investigate the construct validity of codependency, differences between young adults who scored in the high, medium and low ranges on a measure of codependency on theoretically relevant variables were examined. Compared with individuals who scored low on codependency, those who obtained high scores reported significantly more family of origin difficulties and parental mental health problems; problematic intimate relationships including relationships with chemically dependent partners; and personal psychological problems including compulsivity. However, contrary to prevailing theoretical predictions the high codependency group did not contain more females or individuals whose parents had alcohol or drug abuse problems, nor was there a higher level of childhood physical or sexual abuse in the high codependency group. These results suggest that codependency is one aspect of wider multigenerational family systems problems which are not unique to families where drug and alcohol abuse or physical and sexual abuse are major concerns.