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Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy
2025. Vol. 33, no. 3, 148–170
doi:10.17759/cpp.2025330307
ISSN: 2075-3470 / 2311-9446 (online)

Codependency in Women: Investigating the Relationship between Neurotic Symptoms, Emotional Regulation, and Aggression

 
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Abstract

Context and relevance. Within the framework of modern psychological knowledge, the phenomenon of codependent behavior is only beginning to be explored, and empirical studies are fragmented. This article is part of a systematic study and aims to reflect the specific relationship between the stated personality manifestations in codependent women with varying degrees of codependency. Objective. To identify and describe the relationship between neurotic symptoms and emotional characteristics with the manifestation of codependent behavior in women, as well as the specifics of cognitive regulation of these conditions. Hypothesis. It is assumed that the severity of codependency is associated with the characteristics of the affective sphere, the manifestation of neurotic symptoms, and aggression, and that groups of subjects will differ in their preferred strategies for cognitive regulation of emotions, the characteristics of empathy, indicators of neurotic symptoms, anxiety, and depression. Methods and materials. The study involved 233 women aged 18 to 70 years, including 102 women who were in a relationship or were related to an addict (alcoholism, drug addiction, non-chemical addictions). The following psychological tests were used: codependency Self-Inventory scale (CSIS; B. Weinhold, J. Weinhold); questionnaire "Auto- and heteroaggression" (E.P. Ilyin); Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS); scale of obsessive-phobic disorders of the Clinical questionnaire for the detection and evaluation of neurotic conditions (K.K. Yakhin, D.M. Mendelevich); Questionnaire for cognitive regulation of emotions (Rasskazova E.I., Leonova A.B., Pluzhnikov I.V.) and the method "Diagnosis of the level of empathy" (V.V. Boyko). Results. The severity of codependency is associated with affective characteristics, the severity of anxiety and depression symptoms, and obsessive-phobic disorders. Significant differences in empathy, cognitive regulation of emotions, neurotic symptoms, and aggression were identified across the subgroups studied, including those in close relationships with a dependent individual and those not in close relationships but with high levels of codependency. Conclusions. The emotional sphere and manifestations of aggression in codependent women are shown to have their own specific characteristics. These characteristics indicate the role of codependency as a factor in emotional maladjustment and the intensification of neurotic symptoms. Furthermore, these differences between the groups allow for the refinement of targets for psychological interventions for codependency at the personality level and offer prospects for the development and improvement of psychological interventions.

General Information

Keywords: codependency, codependent women, aggressiveness, emotional sphere, codependent behavior, addictive behavior, alcoholism, drug addiction, non-chemical addiction

Journal rubric: Empirical Researches

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2025330307

Funding. The research was carried out at the expense of the grant of the Russian Science Foundation No. 21-78-10139 (https://rscf.ru/project/21-78-10139/) at the Southern Federal University.

Acknowledgements. The authors are grateful for the help in building the architecture of the research to doctor of biology, professor, member of RAE, director of regional scientific center of Russian Academy of Education at the Southern Federal University P.N. Ermakov.

Received 30.05.2023

Revised 30.09.2023

Accepted

Published

For citation: Kolenova, A.S., Kukulyar, A.M., Denisova, E.G. (2025). Codependency in Women: Investigating the Relationship between Neurotic Symptoms, Emotional Regulation, and Aggression. Counseling Psychology and Psychotherapy, 33(3), 148–170. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.17759/cpp.2025330307

© Kolenova A.S., Kukulyar A.M., Denisova E.G., 2025

License: CC BY-NC 4.0

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Information About the Authors

Anastasia S. Kolenova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Senior Researcher, Regional Research Center of the Russian Academy of Education, Southern Federal University, Associate Professor of the Department of General and Consultative Psychology of the Don State Technical University (FSBEI VO DSTU), Rostov-na-Donu, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0715-8655, e-mail: askolenova@gmail.com

Anna M. Kukulyar, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Senior Researcher, Regional Research Center of the Russian Academy of Education, Southern Federal University, Associate Professor of the Department of General and Consultative Psychology of the Don State Technical University (FSBEI VO DSTU), Rostov-na-Donu, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4786-2954, e-mail: vetkina-anna@mail.ru

Ekaterina G. Denisova, Candidate of Science (Psychology), Senior Researcher, Regional Research Center of the Russian Academy of Education, Southern Federal University, Associate Professor of the Department of Psychophysiology and Clinical Psychology of the Don State Technical University (FSBEI VO DSTU), Rostov-na-Donu, Russian Federation, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0240-8176, e-mail: keithdenisova@gmail.com

Contribution of the authors

Anastasia S. Kolenova — research concept; research planning; manuscript writing and formatting; research supervision.

Anna M. Kukulyar — annotation; literature review and compilation of the reference list; participation in the interpretation of results.

Ekaterina G. Denisova — application of statistical methods for data analysis; data collection and analysis; participation in the interpretation of results; manuscript formatting.

All authors participated in the discussion of the results and approved the final text of the manuscript.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Ethics statement

The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Moscow State University of Psychology and Education (report no, 2025/01/10).

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