Dependent Personality Disorder in People living with Chronic pain

Key things to know What the evidence shows
How common is it? Historical chronic-pain clinical sample: 17.4% DPD
Is it more common among people living with chronic pain? DPD substantially represented in one older clinical pain sample; modern population evidence sparse
Are people living with chronic pain at higher risk? Possible clinical association; evidence weak/old
How much higher is the risk? 17.4% in one selected clinical sample; not generalizable
How often can it be missed? Very High
Does it show up differently among people living with chronic pain? Strong Yes
How might it look different? Pain-related assistance is legitimate; DPD requires broader longstanding dependency across contexts
What commonly occurs alongside it? Depression; anxiety; other personality disorders
What can it be confused with? Pain-related functional dependency; depression; somatic symptom disorder
Common screening tool DPQ — Dependent Personality Questionnaire
Separate screening tool for people living with chronic pain None
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