Psychometric properties of the Dissociative Experiences Scale

The test-retest reliability of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Bernstein EM, Putnam FW [1986] Development, reliability, and validity of a dissociation scale. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease 174:727-735) in a clinical sample was found to be .93 for the total DES score and .95, .89, and .82 for the three subscale scores of amnesia, depersonalization-derealization, and absorption (dissociative identity disorder [DID], DSM-IV), respectively. Test-retest reliabilities within diagnostic groups of multiple personality disorder, dissociative disorder not otherwise specified, and a general other category of psychiatric diagnoses were obtained for total and subscale scores on the DES. These ranged from .78 to .96. Tests of mean scores across the two test sessions showed the total and subscale scores to be temporally stable. The DES was also found to be highly internally consistent: Cronbach's alphas of .96 and .97 were observed for the total DES scores taken at times 1 and 2, respectively. Construct validity of the DES was demonstrated by differentiation among the subscale scores in a repeated-measures analysis of variance (F[2,154] = 32.03, p < or = .001). Normality and general distribution issues were also addressed and provided a rationale for using the DES with parametric statistics. Reasons why the DES (as it was originally designed) is not appropriate as a dependent measure in outcome research are discussed, along with needed future research. Implications of the findings for the clinical usefulness of the DES as a diagnostic instrument are noted.