Interpersonal dependency in borderline personality disorder: clinical context and empirical evidence.

Personality theorists and practicing clinicians agree that high levels of interpersonal dependency play a role in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), and this link has been codified in several editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Although there is widespread agreement that dependency is linked to BPD, there has never been a systematic review of empirical evidence bearing on this issue. This article reviews research in three areas: (1) the comorbidity of Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD) and BPD; (2) the association between trait dependency and BPD; and (3) differences in free-response (i.