Psychiatrists' attitudes to multiple personality disorder: a questionnaire study

To assess the attitudes of a random sample of Canadian psychiatrists to Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) and assess the relative prevalence of the condition in three comparable cities in Ontario.

A questionnaire was sent to all psychiatrists who were members of the Canadian Psychiatric Association and who were resident in Ottawa, Kingston and London. Questions were asked on the respondent's personal clinical experience of MPD and his/her attitude to this condition. Some personal and demographic questions were also included.

180 out of 294 questionnaires (61.2%) were returned. The existence of MPD was doubted by 27.8% of psychiatrists who responded to the questionnaire, with a significantly higher proportion in London than in Kingston or in Ottawa. A substantial majority in all three cities agreed that media publicity and the psychiatrist's own belief system affected the prevalence of MPD.

These results confirm that there is a split in the profession regarding belief in the existence of MPD as a diagnosis.