Family of origin and current relationship influences on codependency

This study investigated codependency in Caucasian individuals within the fr amework of Bowen's Family Systems Theory. The sample consisted of a group o f couples, in, which one member of the couple was a recovering alcoholic in an aftercare program, and a group of matched, comparison couples. Particip ants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Friel Codependency Assessme nt Inventory, and the Personal Authority in the Family System (PAFS) Questi onnaire. The findings confirmed that codependency levels were higher in cli nical than, in comparison couples. Moreover within the;clinical group, ther e was Little difference between alcoholics and their spouses with respect t o dysfunction in their families of origin, current families, or their codep endency levels. The findings further suggested that the etiology and functi on of codependency are different in clinical and nonclinical families. In t he clinical sample, the family of origin and current relationship character istics were related to codependency in patterns consistent with previous th eory and research. For the nonclinical sample, however the findings contrad icted conventional codependency theory. The findings suggest that, in contr ast to clinical populations, codependency in nonclinical populations has so me links with favorable characteristics of family functioning.