Dissociative disorder and dissociation - comparison with healthy controls.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of our study is to examine if the dissociation, can influence intensity of psychopathology in patients suffering with dissociative disorders compare the level of dissociation of the patients with the data of healthy subjects.

METHODS: 32 patients suffering with various types of dissociative disorder (9 males and 23 females) and 93 healthy controls (29 males and 64 females) were included into the study. The patients were psychiatrically assessed and the subjective intensity of symptoms was evaluated by Beck Anxiety Inventory and Beck Depression Inventory. All participants were assessed with the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES).

RESULTS: The two groups didn't differ in demographic variables like age, gender and education. Level of the psychological dissociation assessed with the DES was correlated with the severity of subjective anxiety symptoms (p<0.0001), and with the severity of depression symptoms (p<0.0001). Patients had statistically significant higher mean score of DES than healthy controls (p<0.0001).

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the level of psychological dissociation in dissociative disorder patients is associated with the severity of anxiety and depressive symptoms.