Psychopathological dimension of dissociation among people with psychotic disorder: meta-analysis

Abstract

The causal relationship between dissociation and psychosis remains insufficiently explored.This meta-analysis investigates this relationship, considering studies conducted on both clinical and non-clinical population.The systematic search was conducted according to the PRISMA-statement in the databases Medline, PsycInfo and Munich, and allows 8 records to be extracted.499 studies were selected according to inclusion (e.g.articles on dissociation and psychosis; involving participants between the ages of 18 and 65; conducted on both clinical and non-clinical population) and exclusion (e.g.articles on dissociation and other medical conditions; qualitative studies; reviews, commentary, brief reports or book chapters) criteria detailed in the methods.The analyses showed a significant and positive association between forms of psychosis and dissociation, significant differences between the clinical and nonclinical groups, and a significant association between characteristics of schizophrenia and measured dissociation in the normal population.Because research in this field is difficult to undertake, we extracted a very small number of studies that could be included in our analysis.Even if the statistical results are limited, the process of reviewing the existing scientific literature in the field of dissociation and psychosis has been very useful for charting the direction of future research.