Współuzależnienie i relacje zależnościowe w biograficznych doświadczeniach parentyfikacji
Codependency and Dependency Relationships in Biographical Experiences of Parentification

Summary/Abstract: The article combines conceptual analysis with research. The research goal was to analyze the possibility of juxtaposing two concepts: codependency and parentification in the family. The subject of analysis was dependent family mechanisms that are activated in crisis situations and serve to maintain family functionality. The article supplements previous research on the phenomenon of role reversal in the family and its strong embedding in dependent family relationships. Analysis of autobiographical narrative interviews conducted using the technique proposed by Fritz Schütze were used as an exemplification of this problem. By using a retrospective and lifelong view of parentification and family processes, we were able to identify symptoms of codependency in reversed family roles: responsibility, dependence and taking over duties. According to the adaptive model, they perform the function of adaptation, but with a dysfunctional and often destructive effect on the individual. The system theory was used as a theoretical background, which also provided the basis for constructing the concept of “parentification”. Concluding remarks call for broadening the perspective of recognizing and analyzing the experience of dependency in the family.

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