Relationship Dependant is an individual who has learned a set of maladaptive, compulsive behaviors in order to survive in a family which is experiencing great emotional pain and stress.

Maladaptive refers to a person's inability to develop behaviors that get his/her needs met. Compulsive describes the individual's psychological state when acting against his/her own will or conscious desires in order to behave.
Sources of great emotional pain and stress for a family can include, but are not limited to:

• divorce
• hypercritical or non-loving environment
• lack of emotional validation
• military deployment
• chemical dependency
• chronic mental illness
• chronic physical illness
• physical abuse
• sexual abuse
• emotional abuse

People with dependency tend to seek or maintain relationships which are one-sided, and emotionally destructive or abusive.  Dependent individuals usually exhibit low self-esteem and look for ways to "feel better," outside of themselves, in ways that are not always healthy, such as substance abuse.

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