Goes to excessive lengths to obtain nurturance and support from others, to the point of volunteering to do things that are unpleasant. Feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of exaggerated fears of being unable to care for themselves. Urgently seeks another relationship as a source of care and support when a close relationship ends. Is unrealistically preoccupied with fears of being left to take care of themselves.The diagnosis of personality disorders in the fourth edition Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, including dependent personality disorder, was found to be problematic due to reasons such as excessive diagnostic comorbidity, inadequate coverage, arbitrary boundaries with normal psychological functioning, and heterogeneity among individuals within the same categorial diagnosis. World Health Organization
The World Health Organizations ICD-10 lists dependent personality disorder as F60.7 Dependent personality disorder:
It is characterized by at least 4 of the following:
Encouraging or allowing others to make most of ones important life decisions;
Subordination of ones own needs to those of others on whom one is dependent, and undue compliance with their wishes;
Unwillingness to make even reasonable demands on the people one depends on;
Feeling uncomfortable or helpless when alone, because of exaggerated fears of inability to care for oneself;
Preoccupation with fears of being abandoned by a person with whom one has a close relationship, and of being left to care for oneself;
Limited capacity to make everyday decisions without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others.Associated features may include perceiving oneself as helpless, incompetent, and lacking stamina.
Ellison, J. M.; Adler, D. A. (1990). "A strategy for the pharmacotherapy of personality disorders". In Adler, David A. (ed.). Treating Personality Disorders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. pp. 43–63. ISBN 978-1-55542-811-2. Adler, David A., ed. (1990). Treating Personality Disorders. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. ISBN 978-1-55542-811-2. Richards, Henry Jay (1993). Therapy of the Substance Abuse Syndromes. New York: Jason Aronson. ISBN 978-0-87668-539-6. Zimmerman, Mark (1994). Diagnosing DSM-IV-R Psychiatric Disorders in Primary Care Settings: An Interview Guide for the Nonpsychiatrist Physician. Psych Products. ISBN 978-0-9633821-3-9. Ekleberry, Sharon (2014). "Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD)". Treating Co-Occurring Disorders. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-1-317-82549-4. Oldham, John M.; Morris, Lois B. (1990). The Personality Self-portrait: Why You Think, Work, Love, and Act the Way You Do. Bantam. ISBN 978-0-553-05757-7. Sperry, Len (1995). Psychopharmacology and Psychotherapy: Strategies for Maximizing Treatment Outcomes. Psychology Press. ISBN 978-0-87630-787-8. Stone, Michael H. (1993). Abnormalities of Personality: Within and Beyond the Realm of Treatment. Norton. ISBN 978-0-393-70127-2. Benjamin, Lorna Smith (1993). Interpersonal Diagnosis and Treatment of Personality Disorders. Guilford Press. ISBN 978-0-89862-990-3. Benjamin, Lorna Smith (1996). "Dependent Personality Disorder". Interpersonal Diagnosis and Treatment of Personality Disorders. Guilford Press. pp. 221–239. ISBN 978-0-89862-990-3. External links

J. Christopher Perry, M.P.H., M.D., 2005 (Dependent Personality Disorder)
Diagnostic Features, Complications, Prevalence, Associated Laboratory Findings
MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia: Dependent personality disorder