1. the state of having some reliance on or association with another entity or event, as when one variable is formed from another variable in an analysis. For example, dependence would be seen if a researcher included IQ, formed from mental age over actual age, in an analysis that already has age as a variable.

2. a state in which assistance from others is expected or actively sought for emotional or financial support, protection, security, or daily care. The dependent person leans on others for guidance, decision making, and nurturance. Whereas some degree of dependence is natural in interpersonal relations, excessive, inappropriate, or misdirected reliance on others is often a focus of psychological treatment. Personality, social, and behavioral psychology, as well as psychoanalytic theory, all contribute different perspectives to the study and treatment of pathological dependence.

3. see substance dependence.

4. in operant conditioning, a causal relation between a response and a consequence, which results in a contingency.

5. see statistical dependence. Also called dependency. —dependent adj.