Affective Dependence in women: A review of the empirical literature

Introduction: there is an ongoing debate on whether the “emotional dependency” constitutes a real disorder, the increase in publications in this area in the last years seems to reflect the interest for this problem. The objective of this review is to provide a complete overview of current empirical studies on emotional dependence from an integrative perspective. Method: a review of the literature was carried out (i) to identify empirical studies that assess emotional dependence in women (ii) to review the concept, its definition, identification and associated
aspects and (iii) to present, link and discuss the results. Results: the systematic review of the literature identified 19 relevant studies. The included studies used clinical and general population samples (minors, adolescents, and adults) and focused on the characteristics of the people affected by the problem. The research was focused on (1) the validation of measuring instruments; and (2) descriptive or correlational studies. Discussion: a consensus is needed regarding the definition and diagnosis of emotional dependence. There is a need for greater consistency and standardization in this area. An international effort is vital to understand the psychopathology of the problem and develop best practices in the treatment.