Profiles of DES performance in inmate and student samples

Despite the finding of a recent review of the literature (Moskowitz, 2004) that at least 25% of offenders demonstrated pathological levels of dissociation, very little empirical research has been conducted that examines dissociation in samples of prison inmates. This study examined the profiles of dissociative experiences reported in a sample of 42 prison inmates, when compared to 119 students on the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Profile analysis indicated that overall DES performances differed significantly for the two samples. Using Hotelling's criterion, DES items were found to deviate significantly from flatness, and using Wilks's criterion, the profiles also found to differ significantly from parallelism (p < .01). Specific items contributing to these differences were examined. It is hypothesized that some of these items may be reflective of past criminal activities rather than dissociation. As DES-taxon item content reflects less susceptibility to alternative interpretations, it is recommended that both researchers and clinicians consider using the DES-taxon, rather than DES total scores when examining dissociation in forensic samples.