A 20 year old client was diagnosed with dependent personality disorder. Which behavior is most likely to be evidence of ineffective individual coping?

Appeared in: SJH Nursing Officer - 2019

Explanation

The hallmark of dependent personality disorder (DPD) is a pervasive and excessive need to be taken care of, which leads to submissive and clinging behaviors.
This need manifests as an inability to make everyday decisions without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others, which is a form of ineffective coping.
Individuals with DPD lack self-confidence and fear being unable to care for themselves, so they subordinate their own needs and decisions to others.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option A: Recurrent self-destructive behavior is a classic feature of Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD), not Dependent Personality Disorder.
Option B: Actively avoiding relationships due to fear of criticism or rejection is characteristic of Avoidant Personality Disorder.
Option C: A strong preference for solitary activities and emotional detachment are hallmarks of Schizoid Personality Disorder.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Identifying characteristic behaviors of Dependent Personality Disorder as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
Nurses must recognize that for clients with DPD, what appears as compliance may be rooted in fear of abandonment. The goal is to foster independence without withdrawing support abruptly.
A key nursing intervention is to help the client practice making simple, low-risk decisions (e.g., what to eat for lunch) to build self-confidence and reduce reliance on others.
What if the client also exhibits intense, unstable relationships and impulsivity? This co-morbidity might suggest a concurrent diagnosis of Borderline Personality Disorder, requiring a more complex treatment plan addressing both dependency and emotional dysregulation.

How to Approach the Question

First, identify the key diagnosis in the question: 'dependent personality disorder'.
Next, recall the core characteristics of this disorder. The name 'dependent' itself is a major clue, suggesting reliance on others.
Evaluate each option against the known traits of DPD.
Option A (self-destruction) points to BPD. Option B (avoiding relationships) points to Avoidant PD. Option C (solitary activities) points to Schizoid PD.
Option D (inability to make decisions) directly aligns with the core definition of dependency: needing others for guidance and reassurance.
Therefore, select the option that is a direct manifestation of the diagnosed disorder as evidence of ineffective coping.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Identifying characteristic behaviors of Dependent Personality Disorder.
Stem keywords: dependent personality disorder, ineffective individual coping
Lead-in keywords: most likely
Clinical cues: Diagnosis of dependent personality disorder

Question ID

Q7CiEC57vls-xYze-bglIn

Reference Book

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) p. 1794-1796

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 7206-7208

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