Dissociation related to subjective memory fragmentation and intrusions but not to objective memory disturbances

The present study was a replication of Kindt and Van den Hout (Behaviour Research and Therapy 41 (2003) 167) with several methodological adaptations. Two experiments were designed to test whether state dissociation is related to objective memory disturbances, or whether dissociation is confined to the realm of subjective experience. High trait dissociative participants (N(exp.1)=25; N(exp.2)=25) and low trait dissociative participants (N(exp.1)=25; N(exp.2)=25) were selected from normal samples (N(exp.1)=372; N(exp.2)=341) on basis of scores on the Dissociative Experience Scale (DES). Participants watched an extremely aversive film, after which state dissociation was measured by the Peri-traumatic Dissociative Experience Questionnaire (PDEQ). Memory disturbances were assessed 4h later (Exp. 1) or 1 week later (Exp. 2). Objective memory disturbances were assessed by a sequential memory task, items tapping perceptual representations (Exp. 1), or an open question with respect to the remembrance of the film (Exp. 2). Subjective memory disturbances were measured by means of visual analogue scales assessing fragmentation and intrusions. The two experiments provided a fairly exact replication of an earlier experiment (Behaviour Research and Therapy 41 (2003) 167-178), indicating a relation between dissociation and memory disturbances that appeared to be confined to the subjective experience of memory.