The clinical characteristics of dissociative disorders at adolescent health department, Vietnam National Children's hospital

Abstract

To describe the clinical characteristics of dissociative disorders, a cross- sectional study was conducted on 57 adolescent patients diagnosed with dissociative disorder, from December 2021 to June 2023, at the Adolescent Health Department - Vietnam National Children's Hospital. The average age was 13.2 ± 2.62 years old, and the female/male ratio was 1.5/1. Most patients were in rural areas (73.7%), reached puberty (89.5%), had introverted personalities (78.9%), belonged to the group of movement dissociative disorders (43.9%) and dissociative seizures (28,1%). Most clinical conditions were related to psychological trauma (84.2%). Psychological trauma mainly comes from the family and school environment, accounting for 72.5% & 19.6% respectively. The majority of children had conflicting relationships with their parents (68.4%). 43.9% cases showed signs of anxiety, and 38.6% showed signs of depression from mild to severe levels. Dissociative disorders are more common in girls than boys and are mostly related to psychological trauma. Most patients have accompanying symptoms of anxiety and depression. We recommend to limit psychological trauma on adolescents, especially in family & school environment.