What this codependency scale measures
This codependency scale estimates how often Spann-Fisher-style codependency patterns show up in your close relationships. Twenty-four original frequency items group into four domains drawn from external orientation research: external orientation, self-neglect, control and rescue, and identity fusion. Each item also maps to a fear-of-intimacy stack layer so you can see how caretaking roles may connect to vulnerability pull-back, trust hesitation, self-disclosure limits, or closeness anxiety. Your codependency index averages these patterns into a 0 to 100 score with plain-language bands.
External orientation
Scanning moods, replaying conversations, predicting needs, and centering others reactions over your own.
Self-neglect
Skipping rest, canceling personal plans, postponing goals, and guilt when you care for yourself.
Control and rescue
Unsolicited advice, fixing outcomes, monitoring habits, and anxiety when others face consequences.
Identity fusion
Losing separate preferences, defining yourself through helper roles, and anxiety when alone.
How it works
Three steps from first question to your codependency report with fear-of-intimacy stack. Click Start Quiz to open the interactive quiz in a full-screen modal.
Answer 24 frequency items
Rate how often each codependency pattern shows up in close relationships, from Never to Almost always. You click Next after each answer; nothing auto-advances.
Items map to pattern domains and intimacy stack
Your answers accumulate percentages for external orientation, self-neglect, control and rescue, and identity fusion, plus four fear-of-intimacy stack layers.
View band and dual charts
Results show Lower, Mixed, or Higher Codependency Patterns with domain bars, a fear-of-intimacy stack chart, and reflection prompts. Higher bands include crisis resources.
Take the codependency scale
Rate 24 statements about external focus, self-neglect, rescue habits, and identity fusion in close relationships. Your answers produce a codependency index from 0 to 100, a fear-of-intimacy stack chart, and a band label for reflection or therapy conversation.
Opens in a focused modal. No account required. Results stay on screen.
What your result means
Your codependency index is the normalized total across all 24 items on a 0 to 100 scale. Domain bars show endorsement rates so you can see whether external orientation, self-neglect, control and rescue, or identity fusion drives your result most. The fear-of-intimacy stack chart shows parallel layers for vulnerability pull-back, trust hesitation, self-disclosure limits, and closeness anxiety alongside caretaking patterns.
| Band | Index range | Typical reading |
|---|---|---|
| Lower Codependency Patterns | 0 to 35 | Fewer external focus and fusion signals on this screener; stressful caregiving can still spike scores |
| Mixed Codependency Patterns | 36 to 65 | Blend of healthy care and self-sacrifice habits; worth tracking if resentment builds |
| Higher Codependency Patterns | 66 to 100 | Frequent external orientation, self-neglect, rescue, or fusion; professional support may help |
What your codependency scale report looks like
After all 24 items, you get a codependency index from 0 to 100, a band label, four pattern domain bars, and a fear-of-intimacy stack chart with vulnerability pull-back, trust hesitation, self-disclosure limits, and closeness anxiety layers. Percentages reflect relational habits you notice, not a clinical verdict about codependency.
What this scale can and cannot tell you
Can tell you
- How often Spann-Fisher-style codependency patterns showed up for you in close relationships
- A codependency index and four domain bars for external focus, self-neglect, rescue, and fusion
- A fear-of-intimacy stack showing which closeness-avoidance layer feels strongest alongside caretaking
- A starting point for therapy conversation or retaking after a boundary reset
Cannot tell you
- Whether you have codependency, personality disorder, or any clinical diagnosis
- Whether your partner or family member is safe or unsafe without your own judgment
- Whether your relationship can heal without honest dialogue and mutual effort
- What treatment you need without a licensed clinician's evaluation
Spann-Fisher themes, external orientation, and the intimacy stack
Barbara Spann and Joe Fisher published their codependency scale in 1990 in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Their work measured how adults orient toward others' needs, neglect their own wellbeing, attempt control, and fuse identity with close relationships. Melody Beattie wrote separately about codependency in recovery literature, and Timothy Cermak proposed diagnostic framework notes in 1986, though codependency is not a formal DSM diagnosis. Researchers such as Marks, Blatt, and colleagues later debated whether codependency overlaps with borderline traits or learned family roles.
The Quiz Hub built this codependency scale as an original self-report screener inspired by Spann-Fisher themes, not a reproduction of the published instrument. Readers often compare it to sibling tools on this site. Our codependency level test screens caretaking overload, self-worth through usefulness, boundary blur, and approval seeking with Beattie-inspired items. The fear of intimacy quiz maps vulnerability avoidance and trust hesitation without codependency framing. The people pleaser quiz focuses on peacekeeping and saying yes when you mean no.
| The Quiz Hub test | What it adds |
|---|---|
| Codependency level test | Caretaking overload, self-worth through usefulness, boundary blur, approval seeking (no intimacy stack) |
| Fear of intimacy quiz | FOIS-inspired intimacy avoidance index without codependency pattern domains |
| People pleaser quiz | Peacekeeping and approval habits, not external orientation or identity fusion |
| Trauma bond quiz | Bond-after-harm cycles with intimacy stack, not Spann-Fisher caretaking domains |
| Attachment style test | Anxiety and avoidance dimensions across closeness, not codependency frequency |
| This codependency scale | Spann-Fisher-style index plus fear-of-intimacy stack for external focus, self-neglect, rescue, and fusion |
Sample item types include frequency ratings such as whether you scan a partner's face for disapproval during ordinary conversation, or whether you postpone your goals until everyone else's problems feel settled. High external orientation with high identity fusion often lands in Mixed or Higher Codependency Patterns. Family caregiving roles, supporting someone through addiction, and healing from enmeshment can spike scores temporarily. Read how we review quizzes in our editorial policy or browse more tools on our relationships and dating hub.
Codependency scale FAQ
What is the Spann-Fisher codependency scale?
Psychologists Barbara Spann and Joe Fisher published a codependency scale in 1990 in the Journal of Clinical Psychology. Their work measured external orientation toward others, self-neglect, control efforts, and identity fusion in close relationships. Melody Beattie and Timothy Cermak wrote separately about codependency in recovery literature. This codependency scale uses original frequency items inspired by Spann-Fisher themes, not a reproduction of the published instrument. It is not a clinical diagnosis.
What does this codependency scale measure?
Twenty-four original frequency items ask how often you notice external orientation, self-neglect, control and rescue, and identity fusion in close relationships. Each item also maps to a fear-of-intimacy stack layer: vulnerability pull-back, trust hesitation, self-disclosure limits, and closeness anxiety. You receive a codependency index from 0 to 100 and a band from Lower through Higher Codependency Patterns.
What is the fear-of-intimacy stack on this scale?
The fear-of-intimacy stack is a second results chart inspired by FOIS-style intimacy avoidance themes, adapted to codependency framing. Each of the 24 items maps to one of four stack layers showing how caretaking roles may connect to adult closeness habits: hiding vulnerability, testing trust, limiting disclosure, or panicking when bonds deepen. The stack index summarizes those layers alongside the codependency index.
How is this different from the codependency level test?
The codependency level test screens caretaking overload, self-worth through usefulness, boundary blur, and approval seeking with Beattie and Cermak-inspired items. This codependency scale focuses on Spann-Fisher-style external orientation, self-neglect, control and rescue, and identity fusion. It adds a parallel fear-of-intimacy stack chart that the level test does not include.
Can this scale diagnose codependency?
No. The codependency index describes self-reported relational patterns on this abbreviated screener. Only a licensed clinician can evaluate personality, family systems, or related concerns through structured interviews. Online quizzes cannot confirm or deny a diagnosis.
Who reviewed this content?
Dr. Priya Sharma, PhD, reviewed the test framing and result explanations. See our editorial policy for review standards.
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