Dissociative experiences and dissociative disorders in acute psychiatric inpatients

Abstract

The study attempted to determine the extent of dissociative experiences and the prevalence of dissociative disorders (DDs) in a series of acute psychiatric inpatients and to correlate these experiences and disorders with some sociodemographic, clinical, and historical variables. A total of 207 consecutively admitted psychiatric inpatients qualified for the study. All were examined with the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R Personality Questionnaire (SCID-II PQ), Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), and Frankfurter Self-Concept Scales (FS). Patients who scored greater than 20 on the DES were examined with the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule (DDIS). Altogether, 20% of patients scored greater than 20 on the DES. In 5% of the patients, a DD was diagnosed. Significant positive correlations were found between DES scores and SCID-II PQ items' frequency with regard to all personality disorder types, especially borderline, antisocial, schizotypal, and dependent. Less pronounced correlations were found between DES and PBI scores, and between DES score and age. Clinical axis I diagnoses did not have any pronounced influence on the DES score. In contrast, patients with greater proneness to dissociation scored lower on most FS scales. There was a tendency for patients with DDs to report childhood abuse more frequently and they complained significantly more of somatic symptoms. Dissociative experiences seem to be as frequent in Swiss as in North American inpatients, whereas DDs (and childhood abuse) were encountered less frequently in Swiss inpatients. A correlation seems to exist between dissociation and somatization.