Rorschach indicators of dissociative identity disorders: clinical utility and theoretical implications

The purpose of the present study was to replicate Rorschach signs of Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) using DSM-IV criteria of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). Women admitted to either an inpatient dissociative disorder's unit (n = 27) or a general psychiatric unit (n = 72) were given the Rorschach, which was scored for the Labott, Barach, and Wagner Rorschach markers of MPD. Results indicated that Rorschach signs of the three different systems were significantly better than chance at classifying patients as DID or as non-DID. The Labott system, which performed the best, was able to accurately classify 92% of the sample. These results argue for the validity of the DID diagnosis. The Rorschach signs operate independent of external bias, yet correspond to the diagnoses obtained through psychiatric evaluation in an inpatient setting. The fact that two relatively rare sets of signs (DID and Rorschach) converge in the same small sector of the psychiatric population represents evidence of linkage that is clinically meaningful and not explainable on the basis of artificial creation.