Citation

Rathus JH, O'Leary KD. J. Fam. Violence 1997; 12(2): 159-168.

Affiliation

Department of Psychology, University at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, New York, 11794-2500; Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology Program, Long Island University, Brookville, New York, 11548

Copyright

(Copyright © 1997, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1023/A:1022884627567

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Extreme emotional dependence in the primary relationship has been noted as a central motivational feature in wife abuse. We report the development of gender-specific scales on dependency specific to the marital relationship. One hundred fifty nine items were assigned to 15 scales according to conceptual similarity, and administered to 196 individuals in steady dating relationships. Principal components analysis followed by item analysis resulted in three factors that best represented the 15 rational scales for both men and women: Anxious Attachment, Exclusive Dependency, and Emotional Dependency. Clinical implications are discussed and areas for further research are suggested.