Development and Psychometric Characteristics of the Dissociation Tension Scale

Abstract

The newly developed Dissoziations-Spannungs-Skala (Dissociation Tension Scale; DSS) is a self-rating instrument for the assessment of psychological and somatoform dissociative features (ranging from normal up to pathological) as well as aversive inner tension occurring within the past 7 days. The DSS contains 21 items assessing dissociative symptoms and 1 additional item assessing aversive inner tension. Ratings are made on a time-oriented scale ranging from 0% (never) to 100% (constantly). We measured the psychometric qualities of the DSS in a total of 294 patients and healthy controls. Internal consistency of the DSS was high (Cronbach's alpha = .92; Gutmann's split-half r = .92). We found good support for convergent, discriminant, and differential validity. There was clear evidence for the DSS being a sensitive instrument for the assessment of changing symptomatology. Assessment of dissociation and other psychopathological features over the same period of time are now possible.

Pain sensitivity and neural processing during dissociative states in patients with borderline personality disorder with and without comorbid posttraumatic stress disorder: a pilot study

“…23,26 However, state dissociation and aversive inner tension before the experiment were relatively low compared with previous findings. 24 Among all patients with BPD, 5 also had social phobia and 4 met the criteria for an eating disorder. Of the participants with comorbid PTSD, 3 had social phobia and 4 had an eating disorder.…”

“…23 ‡Assessed by use of Dissociation Tension Scale-acute. 24 §Assessed by use of Borderline Symptom List. 26 …”

“…We assessed state dissociation and aversive inner tension by use of the Dissociation Tension Scale-acute 24 (DissoziationsSpannungs-Skala-akut; DSS-acute). The DSS-acute consists of 21 items for dissociation and 1 for aversive inner tension with Likert scales ranging from 0 to 9.…”

Aberrant connectivity of resting-state networks in borderline personality disorder

“…28 In patients with BPD, dissociative symptoms were assessed using the Dissociative Tension Scale (DTS). 29 The control group included unmedicated women matched for age, education and handedness. Participants with a neurologic or psychiatric disorder according to DSM-IV criteria or any substance abuse or dependence were excluded.…”

The role of emotion regulation strategies and dissociation in non-suicidal self-injury for women with borderline personality disorder and comorbid eating disorder

“…Dissociative symptoms (e.g., detachment from physical and emotional experiences) are also highly present in BPD and may influence psychological reactions to emotional stimuli (e.g., Barnow et al, 2010;Korzekwa, Dell, Links, Thabane, & Fougere, 2009;Stiglmayr, Braakmann, Haaf, Stieglitz, & Bohus, 2003). Research has demonstrated that if dissociation functions as a conditioned emotion regulation strategy, it becomes an automatized response to even minor stressors, which interferes with the processing of emotional information (e.g., Oathes & Ray, 2008;Schore, 2009).…”