Codependency and self-esteem among high school students

46 north central Kansas rural high school students completed a coedependency measure prepared from a list of codependent characteristics and the Coopersmith Self-esteem Inventory--Short Form including the Lie scale. Girls reported higher codependency scores than boys, but there was no difference between boys and girls on self-esteem. There was a significant difference between boys and girls on the self-esteem lie scores; boys tended to exaggerate their responses to appear more socially appropriate. The Pearson correlations suggest a moderate and negative association of self-esteem and codependency.