Daphne Blake
Unlike the dowdy, intelligent, and geeky Velma, Daphne is the prim and proper, dainty, and girly female of the Mystery gang. Daphne, depicted as coming from a wealthy family, is noted for her red hair, lavender heels, and fashion sense. Initially, Daphne was portrayed as the enthusiastic, clumsy, and danger-prone member of the gang; hence her nickname, "Danger-prone Daphne" and her status as the team's perpetual, "damsel in distress". Often, kidnapped, tied up, gagged, and left imprisoned, Daphne must rely on the help of the Mystery Gang, especially Fred for her rescue. Daphne constantly yearns for Fred's attention, affection, and appreciation and in the recent cartoons, she more openly voices her attraction towards him. From her evident character traits, it could be determined that Daphne has Dependent Personality Disorder (DPD). Dependent personality disorder is characterized by a long-standing need for the sufferer to be taken care of and a fear of being abandoned or separated from important individuals in his or her life. This leads the person to engage in dependent and submissive behaviors that are designed to elicit care-giving behaviors in others. The dependent behavior may be see as being “clingy” to others, because the person fears they can’t live their lives without the help of others. This is clearly depicted by Daphne who endlessly relies on her friends to be rescued. In fact, a long running theme on Scooby-Doo is Daphne getting kidnapped by the antagonist. Symptoms of DPD that Daphne exhibits are difficulty making decisions, clinginess, tendency to seek overprotection and dominance of others, avoidance of being alone, and devastation or helplessness when a relationship ends.
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