Dissociative Experiences In Iranian Depressed Patients

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Clinical Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent mental health condition.
• Dissociative experiences are common in various psychiatric disorders.
• Understanding subtypes of MDD can improve treatment efficacy.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the prevalence of dissociative experiences in MDD patients.
• To examine demographic and clinical factors associated with dissociation in MDD.
• To identify potential MDD subtypes characterized by dissociation.

Main Methods:

• Convenience sampling of 229 MDD patients.
• Utilized Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and demographic questionnaire.
• Employed t-tests, ANOVA, Chi-square tests, and ordinal regression for analysis.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in mean DES scores were found between patients with physical vs. psychological complaints (23.61 vs. 3.19).
• Rural patients reported higher mean DES scores (19.58) compared to urban patients (5.86).
• A subgroup of MDD patients exhibited significant dissociative tendencies.

Conclusions:

• MDD may include a subtype with significant dissociative tendencies, potentially linked to childhood trauma.
• Dissociation may serve as a defense mechanism in this MDD subgroup.
• Trauma-focused psychotherapy may be beneficial for MDD patients with high dissociation and somatization.