Sex Differences in Dependency: A Comparison of Objective and Projective Measures

Abstract

The relationship between scores on two widely used measures of dependency—one objective and one projective—was examined in a sample of 102 undergraduate subjects (60 women and 42 men). Consistent with previous studies in this area, significant sex differences were found on the objective measure of dependency, with women obtaining higher dependency scores than men. However, as predicted, men and women obtained comparable scores on the projective measure of dependency. Additional analyses confirmed that scores on the objective and projective measures of dependency were significantly intercorrelated in both men and women, although the magnitudes of these correlations were somewhat larger in women than in men. Implications of these results for the assessment of dependent personality traits in research and clinical settings are discussed.