Role of Psychological Stressors in Dissociative Phenomenology

Background: Dissociative phenomena have been observed in clinical populations as an independent diagnostic category as well as in non-clinical populations. It has been observed that a person with dissociation has relatively more adverse stressful life experiences than healthy controls. Various studies indicated that stressful life events may have a causative role in dissociative disorders, however findings are inconsistent.

Objectives: To study this link the present study has been planned with the aim to assess and compare stressful life events and dissociative experience in patients with dissociative disorders and healthy controls.

Methods: The study comprises 80 participants (40 dissociative patients and 40 healthy controls). In the sample total, 16 males and 64 females were enrolled. All participants assessed using the Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale and Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation. Healthy controls were screened by the General Health Questionnaire-12.

Results: In the results of both groups have significant difference in the experience of life time psychological stress [t=2.92; p=0.05] and the correlation positively related with dissociative experiences and stressful life events. The finding from regression analysis indicates that the degree of life time stress emerged as a predictor of dissociative psychopathology treatment outcome (R2= 0.23, Beta coefficient = 0.48, p = 0.000, 95% Cl = 0.21- 0.50). This indicates that patients who had significantly higher psychological stress predicted dissociative psychopathology.

Conclusion: A significant difference was found between both groups in the Presumptive Stressful Life Events Scale, the clinical population has higher scores than the normal population and higher psychological stress predicted dissociative psychopathology.