Related Experiment Videos
The dissociative character: a reconsideration of "multiple personality"
1Philadelphia Psychoanalytic Institute.
Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association
|January 1, 1994
Summary
This study explores multiple personality disorder (MPD) as a dissociative character disorder. It redefines dissociation as an autohypnotic defense mechanism impacting identity and awareness.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Psychology
- Dissociative Disorders
Background:
- Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is a complex dissociative condition.
- Understanding the spectrum of dissociative pathology is crucial for diagnosis and treatment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To clinically examine multiple personality disorder (MPD) within a continuum of character pathology.
- To redefine dissociation as a defensive altered state.
- To illustrate various dissociative states through case vignettes.
Main Methods:
- Clinical interviews and case reviews of over 100 patients with suspected MPD.
- Conceptualization of a continuum of character pathology with predominant dissociative states.
- Presentation of four illustrative case vignettes.
Main Results:
- Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is proposed as a lower-level dissociative character.
- Dissociation is redefined as an autohypnosis-induced defense augmenting repression or splitting.
- A spectrum of disturbances in alertness, awareness, memory, and identity is linked to ego integration levels.
Conclusions:
- MPD can be understood as a distinct point on a dissociative continuum.
- Dissociation serves as a defense mechanism with varying impacts based on ego integration.
- Clinical vignettes highlight the range of dissociative phenomena, from transient states to MPD.