imported>DontCallMeLateForDinner: citation formatting

2025-09-30T18:30:22Z

citation formatting

New page

{{Short description|Type of relationship}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Psychology sidebar|all}}

In [[psychology]], '''codependency''' is a theory that attempts to explain imbalanced [[Interpersonal relationship|relationship]]s where one person [[Enabling|enables]] another person's self-destructive behavior,<ref>{{cite book |last1=McGrath |first1=Michael |last2=Oakley |first2=Barbara |author2-link=Barbara Oakley |editor1-last=Oakley |editor1-first=Barbara |editor2-last=Knafo |editor2-first=Ariel |editor3-last=Madhavan |editor3-first=Guruprasad |editor4-last=Wilson |editor4-first=David Sloan |title=Codependency and Pathological Altruism |date=2012 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=New York |isbn=9780199876341 |page=49}}</ref> such as [[addiction]], poor [[mental health]], [[Maturity (psychological)|immaturity]], [[Social responsibility|irresponsibility]], or [[Underachiever|under-achievement]].<ref name="BPDFamily">{{Cite news|last=Johnson|first=R. Skip|title=Codependency and Codependent Relationships |url=http://bpdfamily.com/content/codependency-codependent-relationships|publisher=[[BPDFamily.com]]|date=13 July 2014|access-date=9 September 2014}}</ref>

Definitions of codependency vary, but typically include high [[self-sacrifice]], a focus on others' needs, suppression of one's own emotions, and attempts to control or fix other people's problems.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dear |first1=Greg E. |last2=Roberts |first2=Clare M. |last3=Lange |first3=Lois |editor1-last=Shohov |editor1-first=Serge P. |title=Defining Codependency: A Thematic Analysis of Published Definitions |journal=Advances in Psychology Research |date=2004 |volume=34 |pages=189–205 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvDkZDAP1HIC&dq=Defining+codependency%3A+An+analysis+of+published+definitions&pg=PA189 |access-date=9 August 2024 |publisher=Nova Publishers |isbn=978-1-59454-079-0 |language=en}}</ref>

People who self-identify as codependent are more likely to have low [[self-esteem]], but it is unclear whether this is a cause or an effect of characteristics associated with codependency.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Marks|first1=A.|last2=Blore|first2=R.|last3=Hine|first3=D.|last4=Dear|first4=G.|date=2012|title=Development and Validation of a Revised Measure of Codependency|url=|journal=Australian Journal of Psychology|volume=64|issue=3|pages=119–127|doi=10.1111/j.1742-9536.2011.00034.x|s2cid=143154273|doi-access=free}}</ref>

==History==

The term ''codependency'' most likely developed in Minnesota in the late 1970s from ''co-alcoholic'', when [[alcoholism]] and other [[Substance dependence|drug dependencies]] were grouped together as "chemical dependency".<ref name="cermak-1986b">{{Cite journal |last=Cermak |first=Timmen L. |date=1986-01-01 |title=Diagnostic Criteria for Codependency |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/02791072.1986.10524475 |journal=Journal of Psychoactive Drugs |volume=18 |issue=1 |pages=15–20 |doi=10.1080/02791072.1986.10524475 |issn=0279-1072 |pmid=3701499|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Beattie |first1=Melody |date=1987 |title=Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself |url=https://archive.org/details/codependentnomor0000beat_h5i1/page/28/mode/2up |location=New York |publisher=Harper/Hazelden |isbn=978-0-06-255446-8 |page=29}}</ref> In [[Alcoholics Anonymous]], it became clear that alcoholism was not solely about the addict, but also about the enabling behaviors of the alcoholic's [[social network]].<ref name="Davis08">{{cite book |last=Davis |first=Lennard J. |url=https://archive.org/details/obsessionhistory00davi_0/page/178 |title=Obsession: A History |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-226-13782-7 |location=London |page=[https://archive.org/details/obsessionhistory00davi_0/page/178 178] |author-link=Lennard J. Davis}}</ref> The term ''codependent'' was first used to describe persons whose lives were affected through their involvement with a person with a substance use disorder, resulting in the development of a pattern of coping with life that was not healthy as a reaction to that other person's substance abuse.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Subby |first1=Robert |last2=Friel |first2=John |title=Co-dependency: An emerging issue |date=1984 |publisher=Health Communications |location=Health Communications}}</ref>

In 1986, psychiatrist [[Timmen L. Cermak]] published ''Diagnosing and Treating Co-Dependence'', from which he developed the unsuccessful argument that codependency should be diagnosable as a personality disorder in people who maintained relationships with "[[personality disorder]]ed, [[Substance dependence|chemically dependent]], other co-dependent, and/or [[Impulse-control disorder|impulse disordered]] individuals."<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Cermak |first=Timmen L. |url=http://archive.org/details/diagnosingtreati00cerm |title=Diagnosing and treating co-dependence : a guide for professionals who work with chemical dependents, their spouses, and children |date=1986 |publisher=Johnson Institute Books |others= |isbn=978-0-935908-32-9 |location=Minneapolis}}</ref><ref name="cermak-1986b" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Cermak |first=Timmen L. |date=May 1991 |title=Co-Addiction as a Disease |url=https://journals.healio.com/doi/abs/10.3928/0048-5713-19910501-05 |journal=Psychiatric Annals |volume=21 |issue=5 |pages=266–272 |doi=10.3928/0048-5713-19910501-05|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="jmorgan">{{cite journal |last1=Morgan |first1=James P. |title=What is codependency? |journal=Journal of Clinical Psychology |date=September 1991 |volume=47 |issue=5 |pages=720–729 |doi=10.1002/1097-4679(199109)47:5<720::aid-jclp2270470515>3.0.co;2-5|pmid=1939721 }}</ref>

[[Melody Beattie]] popularized the concept of codependency in 1986 with the bestselling book ''Codependent No More'',<ref>{{Cite web |title=2022 Revised! Codependent No More by Melody Beattie |url=https://melodybeattie.com/books/codependent-no-stop-controlling-others-start-caring/ |access-date=2022-10-30 |publisher=Melody Beattie |language=en-US |archive-date=2022-10-30 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221030235652/https://melodybeattie.com/books/codependent-no-stop-controlling-others-start-caring/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> which drew on her personal experience in recovery and as a caregiver for somebody with a substance use disorder and interviews with members of [[Al-Anon]], a support group for family members of alcoholics. Beattie's work formed the basis for the development of a [[Twelve-step program|twelve-step]] organisation called [[Co-Dependents Anonymous]], founded in 1986.<ref name="Irving 1999 30">{{cite book |last=Irving |first=Leslie |title=Codependent Forevermore: The Invention of Self in a Twelve Step Group |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-0-226-38471-9 |location=Chicago |pages=29–30}}</ref>

==Definition==
Codependency has no established definition or diagnostic criteria within the mental health community.<ref name="advpsych">{{cite book |last1=Dear |first1=Greg E. |title=Advances in psychology research. Volume 34 |last2=Roberts |first2=Clair N. |last3=Lange |first3=Lois |date=2005 |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |isbn=1594540799 |editor1-last=Shohov |editor1-first=S |location=Hauppauge |page=189}}</ref><ref name="sanderson">{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=Sandra C. |title=A Critical Analysis of the Concept of Codependency |journal=Social Work |date=November 1994 |volume=39 |issue=6 |pages=677–685 |doi=10.1093/sw/39.6.677|pmid=7992137 }}</ref> It has not been included as a condition in any edition of the [[Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders|DSM]] or [[International Classification of Diseases|ICD]].

A 1994 review of the literature on codependency found that there was no consensus on a clear definition of the term, that the concept lacked empirical validation across the surveyed articles, and that most authors who attempted to define codependency instead conflate that task with developing theories about its nature and origins.<ref name="Hands-101994">{{cite journal |last1=Hands |first1=Melanie |last2=Dear |first2=Greg |date=October 1994 |title=Co-dependency: a critical review |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1080/09595239400185571 |journal=Drug and Alcohol Review |volume=13 |issue=4 |pages=437–445 |doi=10.1080/09595239400185571 |pmid=16818359 |access-date=14 August 2024}}</ref><ref name="Dear-2004">{{cite journal |last1=Dear |first1=Greg E. |last2=Roberts |first2=Clare M. |last3=Lange |first3=Lois |date=2004 |editor1-last=Shohov |editor1-first=Serge P. |title=Defining Codependency: A Thematic Analysis of Published Definitions |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nvDkZDAP1HIC&dq=Defining+codependency%3A+An+analysis+of+published+definitions&pg=PA189 |journal=Advances in Psychology Research |language=en |publisher=Nova Publishers |volume=34 |pages=189–205 |isbn=978-1-59454-079-0 |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref> A 2004 survey that sought to clarify the definition of codependency, as a prelude to evaluating it as a possible psychological diagnosis, found that definitions within surveyed papers varied significantly, but tended to identify as core elements high [[self-sacrifice]], a focus on others' needs, suppression of one's own emotions, and attempts to control or fix other people's problems.<ref name="Dear-2004" />

According to psychiatrist [[Timmen L. Cermak|Timmen Cermak]], the concept of ''codependency'' carries three different levels of meaning:{{sfn|Cermak|1986a|pp=2–4}}
* An instructive tool that, once explained to families, helps them normalize the feelings that they are experiencing and allows them to shift their focus from the dependent person to their own [[Abnormality (behavior)|dysfunctional behavior]] patterns.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Goldberg |editor1-first=Arnold I. |title=New therapeutic visions, v.8 |date=1992 |publisher=Analytic Press |isbn=978-1-134-88774-3 |page=145}}</ref>
* A psychological concept, a shorthand means for health professionals to describe and explain certain behavior with each other.<ref name="Klostermann-052013">{{cite journal |last1=Klostermann |first1=Keith |last2=O'Farrell |first2=Timothy J. |title=Treating Substance Abuse: Partner and Family Approaches |journal=Social Work in Public Health |date=May 2013 |volume=28 |issue=3–4 |pages=234–247 |doi=10.1080/19371918.2013.759014|pmid=23731417 |s2cid=205943130 }}</ref>
* A psychological disorder, implying that there is a consistent pattern of traits or behaviors across individuals that can create significant dysfunction.<ref name="Klostermann-052013" /><ref>{{cite book |last1=Dear |first1=Greg E. |last2=Roberts |first2=Clare M. |last3=Lange |first3=Lois |editor1-last=Shohov |editor1-first=Serge P. |title=Advances in psychology research. Volume 34 |date=2005 |publisher=Nova Science Publishers |location=Hauppauge |isbn=9781594540790 |page=189}}</ref>

Writer [[Melody Beattie]] proposed that, "The obvious definition [of codependency] would be: being a partner in dependency. This definition is close to the truth but still unclear." Beattie elaborated, "A codependent person is one who has let another person's behavior affect him or her, and who is obsessed with controlling that person's behavior."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Beattie |first=Melody |url=http://archive.org/details/codependentnomor0000beat_h5i1 |title=Codependent no more : how to stop controlling others and start caring for yourself |date=1987 |publisher=Harper/Hazelden |isbn=978-0-06-255446-8 |location=New York}}</ref>

Therapist and self-help author Darlene Lancer expresses that "A codependent is a person who can’t function from his or her innate self and instead organizes thinking and behavior around a substance, process, or other person(s)." Lancer includes all [[Addiction|addicts]] in her definition. She believes a "lost self" is the core of codependency.<ref name="dummies">{{Cite book |last=Lancer |first=Darlene |title=Codependency for Dummies |date=2012 |publisher=John Wiley & Sons |isbn=978-1118095225 |edition=1st |location=New Jersey |page=30}}</ref>

In the [[Medical Subject Headings|Medical Subject Heading]] (MeSH) vocabulary maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine, 'Codependency' is described for indexing purposes as "a relational pattern in which a person attempts to derive a sense of purpose through relationships with others."<ref>{{Cite web |title=MeSH Browser |url=https://meshb.nlm.nih.gov/record/ui?ui=D017004 |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=meshb.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref> This reflects usage in the literature rather than an official definition.

[[Co-Dependents Anonymous]], a self-help organization for people who seek to develop healthy and functional relationships, "offer[s] no definition or diagnostic criteria for codependence,"<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=What is Codependence |url=https://coda.org/newcomers/what-is-codependence/ |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=CoDA.org |language=en-US}}</ref> but provides a list of "patterns and characteristics of codependence" that can be used by laypeople for self-evaluation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Patterns and Characteristics 2011 |url=https://coda.org/meeting-materials/patterns-and-characteristics-2011/ |access-date=2022-10-30 |website=Codependents Anonymous |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="patterns">{{Cite web |date=2010 |title=Recovery Patterns of Codependence |url=https://coda.org/meeting-materials/patterns-of-recovery/ |access-date=22 July 2022 |website=Codependents Anonymous}}</ref> The community health organization, Mental Health America, characterizes codependency as "relationship addiction" based upon its association with low self-esteem, and with patterns of unhealthy and abusive relationships.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Co-Dependency |url=https://www.mhanational.org/co-dependency |access-date=2023-07-15 |website=Mental Health America |language=en}}</ref>

==Theories==
According to theories of codependency as a psychological disorder, the codependent partner in a relationship is often described as displaying self-perception, attitudes and behaviors that serve to increase problems within the relationship instead of decreasing them. It is often suggested that people who are codependent were raised in dysfunctional families or with early exposure to addiction behavior, resulting in their allowance of similar patterns of behavior by their partner.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Aristizábal |first1=Luz Adriana |title=Codependency in the Relations of Couples of Imprisoned Women |journal=Social Sciences |date=27 October 2020 |volume=9 |issue=11 |page=190 |doi=10.3390/socsci9110189|doi-access=free }}</ref>

===Romantic relationships===
Codependent relationships are often described as being marked by intimacy problems, dependency, control (including caretaking), denial, dysfunctional communication and [[Personal boundaries|boundaries]], and high reactivity. There may be imbalance within the relationship, where one person is abusive or in control or supports or enables another person's addiction, poor mental health, immaturity, irresponsibility, or under-achievement.<ref name="lancer">{{cite book|last1=Lancer|first1=Darlene|title=Conquering Shame and Codependency: 8 Steps to Freeing the True You|date=2014|publisher=Hazelden|location=Minnesota|isbn=978-1-61649-533-6|pages=63–65}}</ref>

Under this conception of codependency, the codependent person's sense of purpose within a relationship is based on making extreme sacrifices to satisfy their partner's needs. Codependent relationships signify a degree of unhealthy "clinginess" and needy behavior, where one person does not have [[self-sufficiency]] or [[autonomy]]. One or both parties depend on their loved one for fulfillment.<ref name="webmd">{{cite web |last1=Wetzler |first1=Scott |title=Psychology division chief at Albert Einstein College of Medicine |url=http://www.webmd.com/sex-relationships/features/signs-of-a-codependent-relationship |access-date=5 December 2014 |publisher=WebMD}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=September 2025}}

===Family dynamics===
In the [[dysfunctional family]], the child learns to become attuned to the parent's needs and feelings instead of the other way around.<ref name="lancer"/> Parenting is a role that requires a certain amount of self-sacrifice and giving a child's needs a high priority. A parent can be codependent toward their own child.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rusnáková |first1=Markéta |title=Codependency of the Members of a Family of an Alcohol Addict |journal=Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences |date=May 2014 |volume=132 |pages=647–653 |doi=10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.04.367|doi-access=free }}</ref> Generally, a parent who takes care of their own needs (emotional and physical) in a healthy way will be a better caregiver, whereas a codependent parent may be less effective or may even do harm to a child. Codependent relationships often manifest through enabling behaviors, especially between parents and their children. Another way to look at it is that the needs of an infant are necessary but temporary, whereas the needs of the codependent are constant. Children of codependent parents who ignore or negate their own feelings may become codependent.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Fuller |first1=Julie A. |last2=Warner |first2=Rebecca M. |date=2000-02-01 |title=Family Stressors as Predictors of Codependency |url=https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=HRCA&sw=w&issn=87567547&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA60099777&sid=googleScholar&linkaccess=abs |journal=Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs |language=English |volume=126 |issue=1 |pages=5–22|pmid=10713899 }}</ref>

===Relationship with other disorders===
Codependency may occur within the context of relationships with people with DSM and ICD diagnosable personality disorders:

*[[Borderline personality disorder]] – there is a tendency for loved ones of people with borderline personality disorder (BPD) to slip into "caretaker" roles, giving priority and focus to problems in the life of the person with BPD rather than to issues in their own lives. The codependent partner may gain a sense of worth by being perceived as "the sane one" or "the responsible one."<ref name="Danielle">{{cite web |last1=Danielle |first1=Alicia |title=Codependency and Borderline Personality Disorder: How to Spot It |url=http://www.borderlinepersonalitytreatment.com/codependency-and-borderline-personality-disorder-how-to-spot-it.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141207072107/http://www.borderlinepersonalitytreatment.com/codependency-and-borderline-personality-disorder-how-to-spot-it.html |archive-date=7 December 2014 |access-date=5 December 2014 |publisher=Clearview Women's Center}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Caccamise |first=Lisa |url=https://www.proquest.com/openview/8e65ffeb1e7985702912b2aab208f6f7/1 |title=Codependency: A new personality disorder? |publisher=Salisbury University |year=1996}}</ref> A 2017 study found that 45% of assessed codependent people were also borderline.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |last1=Knapek |first1=Éva |last2=Balázs |first2=Katalin |last3=Kuritárné Szabó |first3=Ildikó |date=2017 |title=The substance abuser's partner: Do codependent individuals have borderline and dependent personality disorder? |url=https://www.heroinaddictionrelatedclinicalproblems.org/article.php?id=4404 |journal=Heroin Addiction and Related Clinical Problems |volume=19 |issue=5}}</ref>
*[[Narcissistic personality disorder]] – narcissists, with their ability to get others to "buy into their vision" and help them make it a reality, seek and attract partners who will put others' needs before their own.<ref>Simon Crompton, ''All About Me: Loving a Narcissist'' (London 2007) pp. 157, 235</ref> A codependent person can provide the narcissist with an obedient and attentive audience.<ref>Crompton, p. 31</ref> Among the reciprocally interlocking interactions of the pair are the narcissist's overpowering need to feel important and special and the codependent person's strong need to help others feel that way.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Nehrig |first1=Nicole |last2=Ho |first2=Scarlett Siu Man |last3=Wong |first3=Philip S. |date=January 2019 |title=Understanding the Selfobject Needs Inventory: Its relationship to narcissism, attachment, and childhood maltreatment. |url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pap0000182 |journal=Psychoanalytic Psychology |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=53–63 |doi=10.1037/pap0000182 |issn=1939-1331 |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
Of the commonly recognised personality disorders, codependency is most similar to [[dependent personality disorder]]."<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Morgan Jr. |first=James P. |date=1991 |title=What is codependency? |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/1097-4679%28199109%2947%3A5%3C720%3A%3AAID-JCLP2270470515%3E3.0.CO%3B2-5 |journal=Journal of Clinical Psychology |language=en |volume=47 |issue=5 |pages=720–729 |doi=10.1002/1097-4679(199109)47:5<720::AID-JCLP2270470515>3.0.CO;2-5 |issn=1097-4679|url-access=subscription }}</ref> A 2017 study found that only 14.5% of codependent people assessed were also dependent.<ref name=":2" /> The two conditions differ in important ways.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> A dependent person seeks satisfaction from someone else running their life, while a codependent person seeks satisfaction from running someone else's life to that person's satisfaction. Both have a weak [[Id, ego and superego|ego]] and prioritise the stronger [[Id, ego and superego|ego]] of another person, but one wishes to be passive and the other active.

Psychiatrist [[Karen Horney]] defined the concept of ''morbid dependency'' in her 1942 book ''Self-Analysis'', later expanding on it in her 1950 book ''[[Neurosis and Human Growth]]''. Others later associated this condition with codepedency.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Feist |first1=Jess |url=https://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/0072316799/student_view0/part2/chapter6/chapter_outline.html |title=Theories of Personality |last2=Feist |first2=Gregory |publisher=McGraw Hill |year=2001 |isbn=978-0072316797 |edition=15th}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Crothers |first=Marciana |url=https://scholarworks.lib.csusb.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1942 |title=Antecedents of Co-dependency |publisher=California State University, San Bernardino |year=1994}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=September 2025}}

Codependency can be seen as a form of [[learned helplessness]]<ref>{{Cite journal |last=O'Gorman |first=Patricia |date=1993-06-01 |title=Codependency explored: A social movement in search of definition and treatment |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01065870 |journal=Psychiatric Quarterly |language=en |volume=64 |issue=2 |pages=199–212 |doi=10.1007/BF01065870 |issn=1573-6709|url-access=subscription }}</ref> and [[Pathological Altruism|pathological altruism]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=McGrath |first1=Michael |url=https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1969627 |title=Pathological Altruism |last2=Oakley |first2=Barbara Ann |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2011 |isbn=978-0199738571 |chapter=Codependency and Pathological Altruism |ssrn=1969627 }}</ref>

==Recovery and prognosis==
With no consensus as to how codependency should be defined, and with no recognized diagnostic criteria, mental health professionals hold a range of opinions about the diagnosis and treatment of codependency.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gomberg |first1=Edith S Lisansky |year=1989 |editor1-last=Gomberg |editor1-first=Edith S Lisansky |title=On Terms Used and Abused: The Concept of 'Codependency' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fjyJ3QWJgPQC&pg=PA113 |journal=Drugs & Society |volume=3 |issue=3–4 |pages=113–132 |doi=10.1300/J023v03n03_05 |isbn=978-0-86656-965-1 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> Caring for an individual with a physical addiction is not necessarily a pathology. The caregiver may benefit from [[assertiveness]] skills and the ability to place responsibility for the addiction on the other.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Abadi |first1=Fatemeh |last2=Vand |first2=Mosomeh |last3=Aghaee |first3=Hakimeh |title=Models and interventions of codependency treatment, systematic review |journal=UMP Social Sciences and Technology Management |date=2015 |volume=3 |issue=2 |page=574}}</ref>

Individuals who identify with codependency may benefit from [[psychotherapy]], including [[cognitive behavioral therapy]] and [[mindfulness]] practices.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Akila |first1=N |last2=Jeyalakshmi |first2=S |last3=Therese |first3=P |title=Codependency: An Introduction |journal=International Journal of Science Academic Research |date=February 2024 |volume=5 |issue=2 |pages=6972–6975}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=September 2025}}

Many self-help guides have been written on the subject of codependency.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gemin |first1=Joseph |title=Manufacturing codependency: Self-help as discursive formation |journal=Critical Studies in Mass Communication |date=September 1997 |volume=14 |issue=3 |pages=249–266 |doi=10.1080/15295039709367014}}</ref> Self-help groups such as [[Co-Dependents Anonymous]] (CoDA), [[Al-Anon/Alateen]], [[Nar-Anon]], and [[Adult Children of Alcoholics]] (ACoA), which are based on the [[twelve-step program]] model of Alcoholics Anonymous, or [[Celebrate Recovery]], a Christian twelve-step, Bible-based group, also provide support for recovery from codependency.<ref name="COLLET1990">{{cite journal |last=Collet |first=L |year=1990 |title=After the anger, what then? ACOA: Self-help or self-pity? |journal=Family Therapy Networker |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=22–31}}</ref>

==Controversy==
As codependency is not clinically diagnosable as a mental health condition, there is no medical consensus as to its definition,<ref name="advpsych" /> and no evidence that codependency is caused by a disease process,<ref>{{cite journal |title=Taboo topics in addiction treatment. An empirical review of clinical folklore. |year=1993 |last1=Chiauzzi |last2=Liljegren |journal=Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment |volume=10 |issue=3 |pages=303–316 |pmid=8315704 |doi=10.1016/0740-5472(93)90079-H }}</ref> the term becomes easily applicable to many behaviors and has been overused by some [[self-help]] authors and support communities.<ref name= kaminer>{{cite web |last1=Kaminer |first1=Wendy |year=1990 |title=Chances Are You're Codependent Too |website=[[The New York Times]] |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/02/11/books/chances-are-you-re-codependent-too.html }}</ref> In an article in ''[[Psychology Today]]'', clinician Kristi Pikiewicz suggested that the term ''codependency'' has been overused to the point of becoming a cliché, and labeling a patient as codependent can shift the focus on how their traumas shaped their current relationships.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pikiewicz |first1=Kristi |title="Codependent" No More? |url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/meaningful-you/201307/codependent-no-more }}</ref>

Some scholars and treatment providers assert that codependency should be understood as a positive impulse gone awry, and challenge the idea that interpersonal behaviors should be conceptualized as addictions or<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Fuller |first1=Julie A. |title=Family Stressors as Predictors of Codependency |journal=Genetic, Social and General Psychology Monographs |date=2000 |volume=126 |issue=1 |pages=5–24 |pmid=10713899 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12601697 |access-date=29 January 2024}}</ref> diseases, as well as the pathologizing of personality characteristics associated with women.<ref name=Anderson>{{cite journal|last1=Anderson|first1=S.C.|title=A critical analysis of the concept of codependency|journal=Social Work|date=1994|volume=39|issue=6|pages=677–685|pmid=7992137}}</ref> A study of the characteristics associated with codependency found that non-codependency was associated with masculine character traits, while codependency was associated with negative feminine traits, such as being self-denying, self-sacrificing, or displaying low self-esteem.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cowan |first1=Gloria |last2=Warren |first2=Lynda W. |title=Codependency and gender-stereotyped traits |journal=Sex Roles |date=May 1994 |volume=30 |issue=9–10 |pages=631–645 |doi=10.1007/BF01544667|s2cid=144130047 }}</ref>

==See also==

{{columns-list|colwidth=18em|
* [[Alcoholism in family systems]]
* [[Adult Children of Alcoholics]]
* [[Attachment theory]]
* [[Attachment in adults#Anxious-preoccupied|Anxious-preoccupied attachment style]]
* [[Codependents Anonymous]]
* [[Dependent personality disorder]]
* [[Enabling]]
* [[Factitious disorder imposed on another]]
* [[Pathological altruism]] }}


==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Cited works===
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Cermak |first1=Timmen L. |title=Diagnosing and treating co-dependence: a guide for professionals who work with chemical dependents, their spouses, and children |date=1986a |publisher=Johnson Institute Books |location=Minneapolis |isbn=9780935908329 |url=https://archive.org/details/diagnosingtreati00cerm/page/78/mode/2up?q=second%2C |access-date=14 August 2024}}
{{refend}}

==Further reading==
* {{Cite book |last=Beattie |first=Melody |title=Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself, Updated Edition |publisher=Spiegel & Grau |year=2022 |isbn=978-1954118218}}
* {{Cite book |title=Co-Dependents Anonymous |publisher=CoDA Resource Publishing |year=1995 |isbn=978-0964710504 |location=Phoenix}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lancer |first=Darlene |title=Conquering Shame and Codependency: 8 Steps to Freeing the True You |publisher=Hazelden |year=2014 |isbn=978-1616495336}}
* {{Cite book |last=Whitfield |first=Charles L. |title=Healing the Child Within| publisher=Health Communications, Inc. |year=1987 |isbn=978-0932194404}}

{{Borderline personality disorder}}
{{Parenting}}
{{Narcissism}}
{{Psychology}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Behavioural syndromes associated with physiological disturbances and physical factors]]
[[Category:Codependency]]
[[Category:Interpersonal relationships]]
[[Category:Narcissism]]
[[Category:Borderline personality disorder]]
[[Category:Duos]]

Codependency - Revision history

imported>DontCallMeLateForDinner: citation formatting