Treatment of dependency in men versus women essay

The primary topic of the proposal of this research endeavor is to highlight the similarities as well as the differences in the treatment of dependency of adult men versus adult women.  It is clear what the term, dependent, means, and well as what the term means when applied to different genders, and it will be through this research endeavor that these ideas are clearly explained and examined.  In essence, dependence is at one extreme end of a relational situation between two or more individuals, and being independent is at the other extreme, in this research, also to be termed negatively.  The balance point between the extremes of dependence and independence is interdependence.

It is the aim that through this effective research, it can be proven that both dependence and independence are ineffective behavior modalities for men and women, and that the behaviors of men and women in achieving effective relational interdependence are unique and different, yet positive and healthy, for each of the two genders. To be dependent is for a person to have too thin of a boundary, physically, mentally, emotionally, between oneself and another person, whereas to be independent is to have too thick of a boundary between oneself and another person.  The dependent individual lacks the desire, aim, or clarity of thought to thicken the boundary and move away from another, whereas the independent person lacks the drive to be closer to another.  In focusing primarily on the unhealthy state of dependence in women and men, it will be made clear what treatment measures must be taken in order to move the man to a healthy interdependence with a healthy woman.

The steps taken for treating a man will not look exactly the same as those taken for a woman, for interdependence looks differently from the point of view of each unique gender, however, these two unique individuals are, to a certain extent and in a healthy state, entwined, in their respective places and actions, to one another. The research will be based both on prior studies of men and women in their relation to one another as well as in a new experiment.  In addition to current gender and psychological studies, there will be a new study of 30 married men and 30 married women in survey format, providing for both a qualitative and quantitative study of the answers to the posed questions.

Questions asked to the participants may include ones such as, “ How much time do you spend in the work of rearing children as opposed to work aside from child care?”  Answers will be given in advance in the format of: Always, Often, Sometimes, Rarely, Never.  Another question may be, “ How often do you feel happy and fulfilled in the role of husband?”  Through these questions, focused primarily on emotional feelings and family and professional relationships, it will become clear whether a person is either dependent or independent and feeling unwell, or whether a person is happily interdependent in their relationships.  By locating the people who are overly close or involved with their children, spouses, or professional peers and lacking an appropriate concept of self, a treatment plan for these unhappily dependent people will be created, the aim of which would be to foster more of a sense of self responsibility and a healthier distance from others. It is important to note that America, worldwide, is considered a very independence focused nation, so it very well could be that more people are struggling with independence related issues in this culture over dependence related issues, however, the overall aim of this research is to create a picture of what the dependent person looks like in regard to his or her unique gender and to create an effective treatment plan for each gender, moving the person from unhealthy dependence to healthy interdependence, while not pushing the client to the other unhealthy extreme of independence.  In the survey, it is also important to note that women and men sometimes will be expected to answer the questions differently.

For example, a healthy woman answering, “ How much time do you spend in the work of rearing children as opposed to work aside from child care?” would be expected to answer “ Often” or “ Sometimes” while a healthy man would be expected to answer “ Sometimes” or “ Rarely”. Current research found online at Google Scholar, keywords: men, women, relational, dependence, supporting the above research claims, which may be used in this study, are listed below: Aries, E.  (1996).  Men and Women in Interaction: Reconsidering the Differences.

Oxford University Press. Blatt, S., David C., Donald, M., Mongrain, M., Quinlan, D.

, Zohar, A., & Zuroff, D. (1995).  Subscales Within the Dependency Factor of the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire.  Journal of Personality Assessment. Brady, K. & Randall, C.

(1999).  Gender Differences in Substance Use Disorders. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. Bullard W., Cronin J., & Shemwell, D.

(1994).  Relational Exchange in Services: An Empirical Investigation of Ongoing Customer Service-provider Relationships.  International Journal of Service Industry Management. Burnham, B.

& Rude S.  (1995.)  Connectedness and Neediness: Factors of the DEQ and SAS dependency scales. Cognitive Therapy and Research. Dimen, M.

& Goldner, V.  (2002). Gender in Psychoanalytic Space: Between Clinic and Culture.

Other Press. Dujon, D. & Withorn, A.  (1996).  Crying Out Loud: Women’s Poverty in the United States.   South End Press.

; Judith, J.  (1997).  Women’s Growth in Diversity: More Writings from the Stone Center.  Guilford Press. Stiver, I.  (1984).  The Meanings of “ Dependency” in Female-Male Relationships.

Stone Center for Developmental Services.