The Dissociative Subtype of PTSD Scale: Initial Evaluation in a National Sample of Trauma-Exposed Veterans

Abstract

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) includes a dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but no existing measures specifically assess it. This paper describes the initial evaluation of a 15-item self-report measure of the subtype called the Dissociative Subtype of PTSD Scale (DSPS) in an on-line survey of 697 trauma-exposed military veterans representative of the US veteran population. Exploratory factor analyses of the lifetime DSPS items supported the intended structure of the measure consisting of three factors reflecting derealization/depersonalization, loss of awareness, and psychogenic amnesia. Consistent with prior research, latent profile analyses assigned 8.3% of the sample to a highly dissociative class distinguished by pronounced symptoms of derealization and depersonalization. Overall, results provide initial psychometric support for the lifetime DSPS scales; additional research in clinical and community samples is needed to further validate the measure.

Lifetime traumatic stressors and adverse childhood experiences uniquely predict concurrent PTSD, complex PTSD, and dissociative subtype of PTSD symptoms whereas recent adult non-traumatic stressors do not: results from an online survey study

“…The DSPS demonstrated satisfactory internal reliability in the previous research (e.g. α = .85; Wolf et al, 2017); in the current study α = .98.…”

“…Dissociative subtype of post-traumatic stress disorder scale (DSPS). In addition to the two items developed by Frewen et al (2015) for administration with the PCL-5, D-PTSD was also assessed using the DSPS (Wolf et al, 2017). This self-report questionnaire consisted of 15 items that referenced the participant's self-reported 'worst' traumatic experience.…”

The dissociative post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) subtype: A treatment outcome cohort study in veterans with PTSD

“…There are also limitations. The DES is the most prominent measure of dissociation to date, but not without criticism (Wolf et al ., ). It is unclear whether the DES measures state dissociation or trauma‐specific dissociation and whether the scale has sufficient temporal stability to warrant a reliable assignment of individuals to the dissociative PTSD subtype profile, which may indicate a potential low scale sensitivity (e.g., Watson, ).…”

“…We hypothesized that a dissociative PTSD profile would be characterized by distinguishable clinical features in accordance with the subtype model (Dalenberg & Carlson, ), and an increased use of avoidant coping strategies in accordance with the trauma/avoidance model (Dutra & Wolf, ). Age was examined as a predictor of profile membership because older age was associated with dissociative PTSD in veterans (Wolf et al ., ). Finally, it was hypothesized that veterans with a dissociative PTSD profile would report less treatment improvement compared to non‐dissociative profiles.…”

Assessing the existence of dissociative PTSD in sub-acute patients of whiplash

“…Hansen et al, 2017) and not just the studies assessing dissociation more broadly (cf. Müllerová, Hansen, Contractor, Elhai, & Armour, 2016;Wolf et al, 2015). Thus, Hansen et al (2017) review concludes that assessing dissociative symptoms more broadly than depersonalization and de-realization do not add to the understanding of D-PTSD.…”