Contradictory parental attitudes an

Contradictory parental attitudes and behavior are implicated in the predisposition to passive-aggressive personality disorder. In the nuclear family dynamics. At any moment and without provocation, these children may receive the kindness and support they crave or hostility and rejection. Parental responses are inconsistent and unpredictable, and these children internalize the conflicting attitudes toward themselves and others. For example. They do not know whether to think of themselves as competent or incompetent and are unsure as to whether they love or hate those on whom they depend. Double-bind communication may also be exhibited in these families. Expressions of concern and affection may be verbalized, only to be negated and undone through subtle and devious behavioral manifestations. This approach-avoidance pattern is modeled by the children, who then become equally equivocal and ambivalent in their own thinking and actions.