DISSOCIATION IN COMBAT-RELATED POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

Abstract

Investigators have described dissociative phenomena in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and, conversely, viewed dissociative disorders such as multiple personality disorder (MPD) as related to PTSD. However, no study has investigated the incidence of dissociation or predictors of a dire-existing dissociative disorder in. a P7al) group using standardized measures of PTSD and dissociation. This study examined dissociation and predictors of childhood dissociation in 35 PTSD Vietnam combat veterans. Subjects scored .significantly higher than normals on the Dissociative Experiences Scale and Perceptual Alteration Scale. Construct validity of these scales was supported by a significant correlation between the two. Roth measures were also significantly related to scores on the Mississippi Scale for Combat-Related PTSD (4I-PTSD. A correlation between combat and M1'TSI) scores replicated previous studies. Subjects scored significantly higher than normals on the Childhood Dissociative Predictors Scale. Findings indicate a strong dissociative component in PTV). Results offer initial empirical support for a dispositionalstressor model of PTSD analogous to that proposed for MI'D.