The Dependent Personality Questionnaire (DPQ): A Screening Instrument for Dependent Personality

Background: There are no specific instruments for rating dependent personality, although this may be an important subject in clinical practice, where knowledge of dependent personality features may influence treatment. Aims: To develop a simple self-rating questionnaire for dependent personality features and compare the findings in two groups, one with and one without established dependent personality disorder. Method: An 8-item Dependent Personality Questionnaire (DPQ) was developed and its acceptability and validity tested by administration to 30 psychiatric patients, half of whom had dependent personality disorder using clinical and research data, and the other 15 (pair-matched for age and sex) having other psychiatric diagnoses (including other personality disorders) but no dependent personality features. Results: The mean score on the dependent personality questionnaire (DPQ) was 13.7 in those with dependent personality disorder and 7.5 in those without such a disorder (p< .005). The DPQ was also a good predictor of the diagnosis of dependent personality disorder, with sensitivity, specificity, predicted positive, and predicted negative accuracies of 87%. Conclusions: The results suggest that the DPQ may be a suitable screening instrument for dependent personality characteristics.