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Is dissociation a multidimensional construct? Data from the Multiscale Dissociation Inventory.

John Briere1, Frank W Weathers, Marsha Runtz

  • 1Psychological Trauma Program, Department of Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90033, USA. jbriere@usc.edu

Journal of Traumatic Stress
|November 11, 2005
PubMed
Summary

Dissociation is not a single trait but comprises five distinct symptom clusters. These clusters show limited correlation, suggesting a complex, multifaceted nature of dissociative experiences.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Psychiatry
  • Trauma Studies

Background:

  • Dissociation is a complex psychological phenomenon often linked to trauma.
  • Understanding the structure of dissociative symptoms is crucial for accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the underlying dimensionality of dissociation using a large, diverse sample.
  • To determine the relationship between dissociative factors, demographics, trauma history, and clinical status.

Main Methods:

  • Principal components analysis was employed on data from 1,326 participants who completed the Multiscale Dissociation Inventory (MDI).
  • Exploratory factor analysis identified distinct dissociative symptom clusters.

Main Results:

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  • Five moderately intercorrelated factors emerged: Disengagement, Identity Dissociation, Emotional Constriction, Memory Disturbance, and Depersonalization/Derealization.
  • Trauma exposure explained a small percentage (3-7%) of the variance in these factors after controlling for sex and age.
  • Individual MDI factors demonstrated differential relationships with demographic, trauma, and clinical variables.

Conclusions:

  • The findings do not support dissociation as a singular, general trait.
  • Dissociation appears to encompass several phenomenologically distinct symptom clusters with limited empirical overlap.
  • The commonality of these clusters may be more theoretical than empirically demonstrated.