Intellectual Functioning of Inpatients with Dissociative Identity Disorder and Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified

Abstract

The intellectual functioning of 105 inpatients with multiple personality disorder and dissociative disorder not otherwise specified was assessed using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised as part of a comprehensive research protocol. There were no significant intellectual differences between the groups on any major intelligence quotient summary score or any of the age-adjusted empirical factor scores. The anecdotal but widely accepted hypotheses that dissociative patients either have above average premorbid intelligence or that their current intellectual functioning is deleteriously affected by their fluctuant psychiatric disorder were not supported in this sample. A significant subsample of the multiple personality disorder group manifested abnormal interest scatter on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised verbal subtests, and this variability was attributed to subtle neuropsychological deficits on the Memory/Distractibility factor. We speculate that dissociative patients might need to be evaluated for attention deficit disorder in addition to the range of dissociative symptoms in a comprehensive evaluation.

Sleep, trauma, fantasy and cognition in dissociative identity disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and healthy controls: a replication and extension study

“…Regarding cognition, we found similar working memory capacity in DID, PTSD, and healthy controls, which is in contrast to findings of previous studies (Elzinga et al, 2007;Rossini, Schwartz, & Braun, 1996;Simeon et al, 2009). One explanation is that individuals with dissociative disorders may have found ways to compensate for cognitive deficits that make these hard to detect (Brewin, Ma, & Colson, 2013).…”

Role of Fantasy Proneness, Imaginative Involvement, and Psychological Absorption in Depersonalization Disorder

“…In addition, there were no differences between our groups on a measure of psychological absorption. However, depersonalized subjects did indicate higher levels of attentional difficulties, a finding consistent with previous work by Rossini et al (1996). Guralnik et al (2000) similarly found attention deficits, particularly when visual noise was added.…”

“…This finding suggests that dissociative individuals were unable to sustain attention to the task at hand without emotional interference. Absorption in negative emotion or internal stimuli may explain the attentional inconsistencies that have been found in dissociative individuals (eg, Rossini et al, 1996;Guralnik et al, 2000). However, few studies have been conducted with clinical samples of patients with DPD.…”

The Relationships Between Dissociation, Attention, and Memory Dysfunction

“…Guralnik et al (17) could not find significant deficits on neuropsychological measures of attention and memory functions in patients with DPD. Similarly, Rossini et al (22) reported that individuals with high dissociation had normal cognitive functions. Because of the contradictory findings, further studies are needed to understand the linkages between dissociation and cognitive functions.…”