Melaney Swenson

Bio: Melaney Swenson is an academic researcher. The author has contributed to research in topics: Codependency & Rating scale. The author has an hindex of 1, co-authored 1 publications receiving 18 citations.

The development, reliability, and validity of a clinical rating scale for codependency.

Abstract: This investigation examined the reliability and validity of a rating scale for codependency in substance abuse treatment. The investigators developed an example-anchored rating scale to operationalize codependency as substance abuse counselors construe it in practice, and recruited 27 counselors for a counterbalanced multiple-treatment experiment. Counselors were randomly assigned to one of four continuing education workshops for rating-scale training, and asked to evaluate codependency in five videotaped cases. Semistructured case interviews were videotaped with a male and a female from five adult populations to vary the gender and codependency of cases: (1) outpatients in treatment for addiction, (2) outpatient spouses, (3) members of Codependents Anonymous, (4) United States Bureau of Land Management smoke jumpers, and (5) college students majoring in business or economics. To control for gender effects, one workshop presented male cases, one workshop presented female cases, and two workshops presented cases of both genders. To control for order effects, the assignment of videotapes to workshops was randomized to counterbalance the order in which counselors viewed them. The findings suggest that the rating scale yields reliable and valid evaluations of codependency without appreciable gender bias.

Assessing Codependency and Family Pathology in Nursing Students

Abstract: Codependency is believed to develop in dysfunctional family systems and manifest itself in compulsive behaviors that make life painful and work emotionally difficult. The purpose of this study was to assess the relationships between self-reported family pathology and scores on the Codependency Assessment Inventory (CAI) and to determine the prevalence of family pathology and codependency in a sample of nursing students. A descriptive correlational study of a sample of 35 southeastern and southwestern associate and baccalaureate nursing programs was used. Nursing students completed the CAI and a demographic questionnaire adapted from previous research. This study found relationships between family pathology and codependency traits. In this sample, codependency was identified as a severe problem for only a small number of the nursing students. The typical student earned a score on the CAI in the average range. While general information about codependency would be beneficial for almost all nursing students, ...

Differences in early maladaptive schemas in a sample of alcohol- and opioid-dependent women: Do schemas vary across disorders?

Abstract: Research suggests that there may be differences between individuals diagnosed with alcohol dependence and individuals diagnosed with opioid dependence on co-morbid mental health problems (e.g., personality disorders, and mood disorders). This study examined whether there were differences in early maladaptive schemas, which are theorized to underlie mental health problems, among women diagnosed with alcohol or opioid dependence who were seeking treatment for their substance use (n = 420). Results showed that opioid-dependent women scored higher on two of the 18 early maladaptive schemas, particularly the schemas of dependence and punitiveness. Overall, these findings suggest that early maladaptive schemas may be largely consistent across women diagnosed with alcohol or opioid dependence. Implications of these findings for future research and treatment are discussed.

The Relationship Between Codependency and Borderline and Dependent Personality Traits

Abstract: This study explored the relationship between the concept of codependency, a term originating in the field of addictions, and DSM-IV (APA, 1994) descriptions of dependent and borderline personality disorders. Seventy-five undergraduates (16 men and 59 women) were administered the Potter-Efron Codependency Scale (Potter-Efron & Potter-Efron, 1989), the borderline and the dependent scales of the MCMI-II (Millon, 1987), and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS, Weissman, 1979). Pearson Product Moment correlations were computed and revealed a significant positive correlation between codependent and borderline traits and a significant but weaker correlation between codependent and dependent traits. Codependent and borderline personality traits were also similarly correlated on specific cognitive schema assessed by the DAS. These findings are one of only a few first empirical tests of the relationship between borderline personality disorder, dependent personality disorder and codependency, possibly ind...

To have and to hold: Codependency as a mediator or moderator of the relationship between substance abuse in the family of origin and adult-offspring medical problems

Abstract: This pilot study explored the putative role of codependency as a mediator or moderator of the relationship between substance abuse in the family of origin (SAFO) and offspring medical problems in a counterbalanced multiple-treatment experiment with a heterogenous sample of adult males and females. Codependent attitude and behavior were moderators that attenuated the relationship between SAFO and two measures of acute offspring medical problems, but codependent behavior amplified the relationship between SAFO and chronic medical problems. Challenging replications are called for.

Testing Cermak's Hypothesis: Is Dissociation the Mediating Variable that Links Substance Abuse in the Family of Origin with Offspring Codependency?

Abstract: This is a pilot study of substance abuse in the family of origin and its relation to offspring dissociation and offspring codependency. Cermak contends that substance abuse in the family of origin exposes offspring to trauma, that exposure to trauma in the family of origin engenders offspring dissociation, and that dissociation is the process underlying offspring codependency. Assuming that substance abuse in the family of origin exposes offspring to trauma, this experiment tested the hypothesis that dissociation mediates the relationship between substance abuse in the family of origin and offspring codependency. Although it was found that substance abuse in the family of origin, offspring dissociation, and offspring codependency were associated, no support was found for the prediction that dissociation mediates the relationship between substance abuse in the family of origin and offspring codependency. Replications are called for.