behavior designed to force others to do one’s bidding, often masked as filial devotion or as marital or parental concern and sometimes expressed directly (e.g., “If you don’t do what I say, I’ll kill myself”).
1. a person or object that substitutes for the role of an individual who has a significant position in a family or group. See father surrogate; mother surrogate.
2. more generally, any person or entity that substitutes for another.