Communication Attitudes and Barriers in Codependent Individuals with Suppressed Aggression

Introduction. Codependency is considered in the article as a problem that causes the suppression of aggressive feelings for a number of reasons. These reasons can be: low self-esteem, the desire to please others and get approval, inattention to their own feelings and the intention to suppress them, a tendency to a manipulative communication strategy, etc., which affects the formation of specific communicative attitudes in people who are in the problem of codependency.

Objective. A comprehensive study of the features of aggression suppression and the impact of this factor on communicative attitudes and communication barriers in people who are dependent.

Materials and Methods. The following empirical methods were used in the study: I. V. Abakumov’s and A. P. Ignatenko’s author’s questionnaire; V. D. Moskalenko’s “Codependency Scale” method; N. G. Artemtsev’s “Codependency profile” test; V. V. Boyko’s “Diagnostics of the type of communicative attitude” test; V. V. Boyko’s “Diagnostics of interference for emotional contacts” В. test. Briskly. Statistical methods of data processing are used in processing the results, namely the SPSS 27 software: comparison of average values, Student’s single-sample t-χtest, Pearson’s χ² criterion.

Results. The sample included 223 respondents. The experimental group consisted of respondents with a problem of codependency (n = 147), and the control group consisted of respondents without a problem of codependency (n = 76). The study revealed that individuals experiencing codependency tend to suppress aggressive feelings in social interactions. This suppression correlates with open cruelty towards others, justified negativism in judgements about people, and a negative personal communication experience. These patterns shape specific communication attitudes, including a pronounced negative attitude, inflexibility, limited emotional development and expressiveness, dominance of negative emotions, reluctance to form emotional connections, and general emotional challenges in everyday communication.

Discussion. The influence of codependency on the phenomenon of suppressed aggression in interpersonal communication is empirically confirmed, which leads to disorders in the emotional and communicative spheres of the individual, which manifests itself in emotional detachment, excessive inhibition and destructive communication attitudes. The practical significance of the study is to substantiate the need to develop psychocorrective programs for specialists of rehabilitation centers aimed at restoring contact between codependent individuals and their aggressive feelings and developing skills for their constructive expression.

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