Abstract
To assess the relationship between dissociative and psychotic experiences, New Zealand university students (N = 119) and prison inmates (N = 42) were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90R). Strong correlations were found between DES scores and the psychoticism and paranoid ideation subscales of the SCL-90-R (students: r =.520,.517, respectively; inmates: r =.637,.649, respectively). While other correlations were also significant (but smaller), these results are consistent with previous studies that have used a range of measures of psychosis or schizotypy with a variety of clinical and nonclinical populations. Such consistent findings in the face of methodological diversity offer strong support for the validity of a link between the concepts of dissociation and psychosis. While this relationship has previously been interpreted indirectly, as dissociative experiences predisposing to psychotic symptoms, we suggest a direct route: that dissociative experiences of various forms may underlie some (or even all) psychotic symptoms.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 722-727 |
Number of pages | 5 |
Journal | The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease |
Volume | 193 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2005 |
Keywords
- dissociation
- psychosis
- schizotypy
- MULTIPLE PERSONALITY-DISORDER
- EXPERIENCES SCALE
- AUDITORY HALLUCINATIONS
- SCHIZOPHRENIA
- SYMPTOMS
- VALIDITY
- SCHIZOTYPY
- PSEUDOHALLUCINATIONS
- DEPERSONALIZATION
- VALIDATION