Dissociation in people who have near-death experiences: out of their bodies or out of their minds?
The Lancet February 1, 2000 DOI: 10.1016/s0140-6736(00)82013-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 134 |
| Population | Individuals who had come close to death, with and without self-reported near-death experiences |
| Topics | Near-death experience |
| Citations | 149 |
| Key findings | People who reported near-death experiences also reported significantly more dissociative symptoms than those who came close to death without NDEs, and the depth of the NDE was positively correlated with dissociative symptoms. |
Abstract
BackgroundSome people who come close to death report having experiences in which they transcend the boundaries of the ego and the confines of time and space. Such near-death experiences (NDEs) share some features with the phenomenon of dissociation, in which a person's self identity becomes detached from bodily sensation. This study explored the frequency of dissociative symptoms in people who had come close to death.Methods96 individuals who had had self-reported NDEs, and 38 individuals who had come close to death but who had not had NDEs completed a mailed questionnaire that included a measure of "depth" of near-death experience (the NDE scale) and a measure of dissociative symptoms (the Dissociative Experiences Scale). Median scores in the two groups were compared with Mann-Whitney U tests. The association between depth of NDE and dissociative symptoms was tested by Spearman's rank-order correlation between scores on the NDE scale and the dissociative experiences scale.FindingsPeople who reported NDEs also reported significantly more dissociative symptoms than did the comparison group. Among those who reported NDEs, the depth of the experience was positively correlated with dissociative symptoms, although the level of symptoms was substantially lower than that of patients with pathological dissociative disorders.InterpretationThe pattern of dissociative symptoms reported by people who have had NDEs is consistent with a non-pathological dissociative response to stress, and not with a psychiatric disorder. A greater understanding of the mechanism of dissociation may shed further light on near-death and other mystical or transcendental experiences.
In the evidence
This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.
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NDE reporters had significantly more dissociative symptoms than comparison subjects, and NDE depth correlated positively with dissociative symptoms, though below pathological levels.
Synthesized
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on near-death experience, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands Cardiac patients successfully resuscitated after cardiac arrest in ten Dutch hospitals | 2001 | Prospective cohort study | n = 344 |
| Incidence and correlates of near-death experiences in a cardiac care unit Cardiac inpatients at a tertiary care center | 2003 | Observational cohort | n = 1,595 |
| Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death Patients who believed they were near death during an illness or after an injury and... | 1990 | Observational cohort | n = 58 |
| The phenomenology of near-death experiences Subjects who reported near-death experiences | 1980 | Retrospective study | n = 78 |
| Near-Death Experiences and the Temporal Lobe Individuals who reported having had a near-death experience during a life-threatening... | 2004 | Observational cohort |
Citations in the library
Cited by 57
- Near-death experience in survivors of cardiac arrest: a prospective study in the Netherlands The Lancet December 1, 2001
- Incidence and correlates of near-death experiences in a cardiac care unit General Hospital Psychiatry July 1, 2003
- Does the arousal system contribute to near death experience? Neurology April 10, 2006
- Consistency of near-death experience accounts over two decades: Are reports embellished over time? Resuscitation February 8, 2007
- Implications of near-death experiences for a postmaterialist psychology. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality February 1, 2010
and 52 more in the library
Cites 11
- The Near-Death Experience Scale The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease June 1, 1983
- Features of "near-death experience" in relation to whether or not patients were near death The Lancet November 1, 1990
- The Near-death Experience The British Journal of Psychiatry November 1, 1988
- Neuroscience and the Near-Death Experience: Roles for the NMSA-PCP receptor, the sigma receptor and the endopsychosins Medical Hypotheses 1990
- The Near-Death Experience as a Focus of Clinical Attention The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease May 1, 1997
and 6 more in the library