Dissociative identity disorder: An empirical overview

Dorahy, Martin J.; Brand, Bethany L.; Şar, Vedat; Krüger, Christa; Stavropoulos, Pam; Martínez-Taboas, Alfonso; Lewis‐Fernández, Roberto; Middleton, Warwick

doi:10.1177/0004867414527523

Cited by 164 publications

(140 citation statements)

References 159 publications

(208 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Moreover, this process seems to be present across trauma, general mental health, and healthy volunteers, indicating a common psychological mechanism. Recent research supports these findings with self-attack and self-criticism manifesting as prominent negative shame coping strategies in multiple populations and predicting mental health difficulties as varied as social anxiety, general anxiety, stress, depression, and poor intimate relationship functioning (Dorahy et al, 2014;Gilbert et al, 2011;Shahar, Doron, & Szepzenwol, 2014). The fact that self-criticism, negative core schemata, and the traumatic experiences shaping Complex Trauma and DID reactions are thought to emerge from early childhood are also suggestive of overlapping pathways (Dalenberg et al, 2012;Kopala-Sibley, Zuroff, Hankin, &, Abela, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

“…Ironically, "withdrawal" was initially asserted as a psychologically healthy shame coping style (see Nathanson, 1992). Gathering empirical evidence has provided a different picture of this coping style and found that it is both a problematic coping strategy for DID and a risk factor for difficulties in both forming effective therapeutic relationships and overall relationship functioning (Black et al, 2013;Dorahy et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Comparing shame in clinical and nonclinical populations: Preliminary findings.

Dyer¹,

Dorahy²,

Corry³

et al. 2017

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: To conduct a preliminary study comparing different trauma and clinical populations on types of shame coping style and levels of state shame and guilt. Methods: A mixed independent groups/correlational design was employed. Participants were recruited by convenience sampling of 3 clinical populations—complex trauma (n = 65), dissociative identity disorder (DID; n = 20), and general mental health (n = 41)—and a control group of healthy volunteers (n = 125). All participants were given (a) the Compass of Shame Scale, which measures the four common shame coping behaviors/styles of “withdrawal,” “attack self,” “attack other,” and “avoidance,” and (b) the State Shame and Guilt Scale, which assesses state shame, guilt, and pride. Results: The DID group exhibited significantly higher levels of “attack self,” “withdrawal,” and “avoidance” relative to the other groups. The complex trauma and general mental health groups did not differ on any shame variable. All three clinical groups had significantly greater levels of the “withdrawal” coping style and significantly impaired shame/guilt/pride relative to the healthy volunteers. “Attack self” emerged as a significant predictor of increased state shame in the complex trauma, general mental health, and healthy volunteer groups, whereas “withdrawal” was the sole predictor of state shame in the DID group. Conclusions: DID emerged as having a different profile of shame processes compared to the other clinical groups, whereas the complex trauma and general mental health groups had comparable shame levels and variable relationships. These differential profiles of shame coping and state shame are discussed with reference to assessment and treatment.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 83%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing shame in clinical and nonclinical populations: Preliminary findings.

Dyer¹,

Dorahy²,

Corry³

et al. 2017

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…All participants had a history of child abuse and neglect and had a diagnosis of (1) dissociative disorder (primarily DID), (2) child maltreatmentrelated chronic PTSD or (3) another psychiatric problem. Given the literature showing high levels of abuse and neglect in DID, along with a complex and severe symptom profile (Dorahy et al, 2014), it was expected that the DD sample would have a higher level of childhood abuse/neglect and higher scores on the symptom and affect measures.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissociation, shame, complex PTSD, child maltreatment and intimate relationship self-concept in dissociative disorder, chronic PTSD and mixed psychiatric groups

Dorahy

Middleton

Seager

et al. 2015

Journal of Affective Disorders

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

a b s t r a c tBackground: Whilst a growing body of research has examined dissociation and other psychiatric symptoms in severe dissociative disorders (DDs), there has been no systematic examination of shame and sense of self in relationships in DDs. Chronic child abuse often associated with severe DDs, like dissociative identity disorder, is likely to heighten shame and relationship concerns. This study investigated complex posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), borderline and Schneiderian symptoms, dissociation, shame, child abuse, and various markers of self in relationships (e.g., relationship esteem, relationship depression, fear of relationships). Methods: Participants were assessed via clinical interview with psychometrically sound questionnaires. They fell into three diagnostic groups, dissociative disorder (n ¼ 39; primarily dissociative identity disorder), chronic PTSD (Chr-PTSD; n ¼13) or mixed psychiatric presentations (MP; n ¼ 21; primarily mood and anxiety disorders). All participants had a history of child abuse and/or neglect, and the groups did not differ on age and gender. Results: The DD group was higher on nearly all measured variables than the MP group, and had more severe dissociative, borderline and Schneiderian symptoms than the Chr-PTSD sample. Shame and complex PTSD symptoms fell marginally short of predicting reductions in relationship esteem, pathological dissociative symptoms predicted increased relationship depression, and complex PTSD symptoms predicted fear of relationships. Limitations: The representativeness of the samples was unknown. Conclusion: Severe psychiatric symptoms differentiate DDs from chronic PTSD, while dissociation and shame have a meaningful impact on specific markers of relationship functioning in psychiatric patients with a history of child abuse and neglect.

show abstract

“…Another part is that woman when she was an abused child: this part feels and talks like a frightened five-year-old, and knows nothing about having had children or a professional life. The origins of DID Evidence is accumulating (Dorahy et al 2014) to show that Other Specified Dissociative Disorder (OSDD) and DID are linked to severe childhood trauma and abuse. Almost invariably, people with these disorders (DID and OSDD) report years of continuous, most extreme trauma.…”

Section: Dissociative Identity Disordermentioning

confidence: 99%

Who Done It, Actually? Dissociative Identity Disorder for the Criminologist

Sachs

2015

Int J for Crime, Justice & Social Democracy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (American Psychiatric Association 2013) is examined in this paper from the perspective of its relevance to the criminologist. As this psychiatric condition is linked to severe and prolonged childhood abuse, accounts of DID patients inevitably involve reports of serious crimes, in which the person was the victim, perpetrator or witness. These reports can thus contain crucial information for criminal investigations by the police or for court proceedings. However, due to the person's dissociation, such reports are often very confusing, hard to follow, hard to believe and difficult to obtain. They also frequently state that the person had 'no choice', a thorny notion for the criminologist (as well as for the clinician). Through the analysis of clinical examples, the paper explores how decisions are made by a person with DID, the notions of choice and 'competent reasoning', and the practical and ethical ways for interviewing a person with DID.

show abstract

Dissociative identity disorder: An empirical overview

Cited by 164 publications

References 159 publications

Comparing shame in clinical and nonclinical populations: Preliminary findings.

Comparing shame in clinical and nonclinical populations: Preliminary findings.

Dissociation, shame, complex PTSD, child maltreatment and intimate relationship self-concept in dissociative disorder, chronic PTSD and mixed psychiatric groups

Who Done It, Actually? Dissociative Identity Disorder for the Criminologist

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About