[Multiple personality disorder: old concepts presented as new]

The rapid increase in numbers of MPD patients in the Anglo-American literature requires discussion of the diagnostic concept. The classification of MPD as Dissociative Disorders by DSM-III-R and ICD-10 follows the traditional conceptualization of hysteria and hypnosis. In the view of the majority of modern authors child abuse appears as a new etiological issue. This theme highly sensitive is critically discussed against the background of older psychopathological concepts of forgetting. A careful analysis of personality traits and motivation in the individual case help to avoid overuse of the new diagnostic label.