Dissociation and Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Patients With Chronic Pain

Abstract

The present study examined the number and frequency of dissociative experiences reported by patients with chronic pain and the association between dissociation and emotional distress in this population. The mean Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) score obtained by patients with chronic pain was comparable to mean DES scores obtained by persons diagnosed with affective disorders, eating disorders, personality disorders, and schizophrenia. Based on their median DES score, patients with chronic pain reported more frequent dissociation than did normal adults and persons diagnosed with alcohol use disorders, specific phobias, and agoraphobic avoidance. Traumatized patients with chronic pain evidenced significantly more frequent dissociation than did nontraumatized patients, the traumatized group reporting dissociative experiences as occurring 17% of the time and the nontraumatized group reporting dissociative experiences as occurring 11% of the time. DES absorption, depersonalization, and amnesia scores accounted for 21% of the variance in posttraumatic stress symptoms reported by patients with chronic pain. Findings are discussed in terms of their implications for assessment and cognitive–behavioral management of traumatic stress responding in persons with chronic pain.