I would say there were symptoms of dependency in me by the time I was 16, but rather than just seeing it as a disorder, I see it as a person trying to heal themselves through re-establishing a parental bond that was lacking earlier on. I never really bonded with my adoptive parents and when I was 16 I met a man whom i wanted to be my father because I felt a strong connection with him. The situation was the same at 18 - I don't think that anyone could diagnose it differently because of the two years difference in age. Not diagnosing till the person is 18 is just a policy to make sure the diagnosis is correct. But the way it's diagnosed seems to be very negative. Some people viewed it as an unhealthy dependency; I viewed it as a vital attachment without which I don't think I could have survived. It was my means of survival at that time.