Racial and Ethnic Differences in Dissociation: An Examination of the Dissociative Experiences Scale in a Nonclinical Population

Abstract

The present study sought to examine normative dissociation within a racially and ethnically diverse nonclinical sample. In all, 317 undergraduates, including 190 Whites and 127 racial/ethnic minorities from a large research university participated in the current study. Results indicated differences in dissociation as a function of race: African and Asian Americans reported significantly higher rates of dissociation compared to Whites. There were no differences in psychological adjustment indicators as a function of race. The findings indicate that race moderates the relationship between dissociation and psychological adjustment outcomes for Blacks (all models) and Asian Americans (1 model), such that higher rates of dissociation are associated with lower rates of psychological distress as compared to Whites.

Trait Dissociation and the Subjective Affective, Motivational, and Phenomenological Experience of Self-Defining Memories

“…Consistent with previous research (Douglas, 2009), Asian participants scored higher on dissociation than did white participants ( M = 2.33 [ SD = 1.65] versus M = 1.61 [ SD = 1.35], p < .05 for Asian and white participants, respectively). Age was uncorrelated with dissociation ( r = −.02, ns ).…”

“…Men and women did not differ on dissociation (M 5 2.15 [SD 5 1.57] vs. M 5 1.76 [SD 5 1.48], ns, for men and women, respectively). Consistent with previous research (Douglas, 2009), Asian participants scored higher on dissociation than did White participants (M 5 2.33 [SD 5 1.65] vs. M 5 1.61 [SD 5 1.35], po.05, for Asian and White participants, respectively). Age was uncorrelated with dissociation (r 5 À .02, ns).…”

Levels of Dissociation and Nonsuicidal Self-Injury: A Quartile Risk Model

“…Also, we did not examine differences in demographics or constructs based on recruitment samples -it is possible this was a confound; however, the demographics for age and education suggest that this was a fairly representative sample for young metropolitan females. Dissociation has been found to vary (Douglas, 2009), and while this sample was multi-ethnic, the number of participants in most of the ethnic groups was too small to allow for meaningful statistical analyses. Therefore, we did not run separate analyses for each group; instead, we used the total sample for all analyses.…”

An Exploration of Young Adults' Progress in Treatment for Dissociative Disorder

“…Nonclinical young adults have reported Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Bernstein & Putnam, 1986) mean scores ranging from approximately 14 to 23 (Douglas, 2009;Gleaves, Eberenz, Warner, & Fine, 1995;Lorber et al, 2007;Martiñez-Taboas & Bernal, 2000); mean scores ranging from 15 to more than 30 have been reported in young adults with trauma histories (e.g., Nagata, Kiriike, Iketani, Kawarada, & Tanaka, 1999;Zelikovsky & Lynn, 2002). In many cases, these scores have been higher than those found in older traumatized samples, indicating that dissociation is inversely related to age (e.g., Dorahy, Lewis, Millar, & Lee, 2003;Goldberg, 1999;Putnam, 1996;Vanderlinden, Varga, Peuskens, & Pieters, 1995).…”