Exam 3: Dissociative Disorders

Question 1

Dissociative Amnesia Prevalence (year)

Answer 1

1.8%, f > m

Question 2

Depersonalization Disorder Prevalence (lifetime)

Answer 2

2%, m = f (over 50% of adults have had an episode)

Question 3

DID Prevalence (year)

Answer 3

1.5%, m = f

Question 4

Dissociative Amnesia Symptoms

Answer 4

cannot recall important personal information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, too exreme to be attributed to normal forgetfulness, “episodic” memory gaps

Question 5

Difference between Dissociative Amnesia and other memory loss

Answer 5

DA is sudden vs. gradual of other memory loss, ends abruptly, and recovery can be complete

Question 6

Dissociative Amnesia: Fugue

Answer 6

very rare; person has amnesia, and will leave and go somewhere else with a completely new identity; length of time varies; heavy alcohol use can contribute

Question 7

DA Pattern: generalized

Answer 7

loss of memory extends back to times long before the upsetting period; in most extreme cases, person may not remember who they are and fail to recognize family and friends

Question 8

DA Pattern: localized

Answer 8

most common; person loses all memory of events that took place within a limited period of time, almost always beginning with some very disturbing occurrence

Question 9

DA pattern: selective

Answer 9

second most common form of dissociative amnesia; remember some, but not all, events that occurred during a period of time

Question 10

DA patten: continuous

Answer 10

forgetting continues into the present; might forget new and ongoing experiences as well as what happened before and during the trauma

Question 11

Depersonalization Disorder Symptoms

Answer 11

persistent/recurrent episodes of depersonalization, can feel detached, robotic/mechanical, cannot feel sensory system, have trouble describing symptoms, derealization (external world seems strange and unreal); are aware that they are not actually detached from their body

Question 12

Depersonalization Disorder Onset and Course

Answer 12

onset is rapid, disappeareance is gradual

mean age: 16

Question 13

Depersonalization Disorder Triggers

Answer 13

trauma, stress, drugs

Question 14

Dissociative Identity Disorder Symptoms

Answer 14

lack of unified identity, two or more distinct identities/personalities/alters with a consistent pattern of viewing the self and the world; does not recall important personal information; can be continuous or episodic

Question 15

DID Onset

Answer 15

seems to begin in childhood, but is not diagnosed until adolescence or early adulthood

Question 16

DID: Common Alters

Answer 16

child alter, self-mutilating and/or suicidal, helpful (do things the main personality cannot do)

Question 17

DID: Shift in Alters

Answer 17

Stress or drugs can cause it; facial espression, voice, and demeanor change; disruption in train of thought, rapid eye blinking

Question 18

DID: Alter Characteristics

Answer 18

sometimes in groups of 2 or 3; if fully developed, can have specific ages, memories, genders, allergy sensitivities, social relationships, etc.; somethimes person is functioning, alters can work well

Question 19

DID: Alter Awareness

Answer 19

Alters can be mutually amnesic (not aware) or mutually cognizant (aware); some alters are aware of others, but awareness is not mutual

Question 20

DID Diagnosis History

Answer 20

100 reported cases by 1972
Increase after 1980
Clinicians were reluctant to use this diagnosis; did not appear in DSM until DSM III

Question 21

DID Comorbidity

Answer 21

Most people have at least 3 other disorders; highly comorbid with PTSD, substance abuse, MDD, and other personality disorders

Question 22

DID and Trauma

Answer 22

97% of cases are caused by trauma; typically sexual abuse, repeated physical abuse, incest, or other trauma (kidnapping, etc.); other personalities develop to deal with the trauma and used as a defense mechanism

Question 23

DID + PTSD Associated Features

Answer 23

self-harm, suicidal, aggression, abusive relationships, impulsivity, substance abuse, sexual/eating/sleep disorders, depression and borderline personality disorder

Question 24

DID Reliability and Validity

Answer 24

equal to or better than diagnoses that are well-accepted

Question 25

DID Etiology

Answer 25

caused by a major trauma or sexual abuse; only 3% experienced no significant childhood trauma

Question 26

DID Associated Factors

Answer 26

dissociation prone, highly hypnotizable, harsh abuse in inescapable situation, often have multiple traumas

Question 27

DID: Psychoanalytic Theory

Answer 27

“post-traumatic” model: 1 part of the mind splits off and becomes dissociated as a defense; trauma is repressed; DID is a lifetime of excessive repression

Question 28

DID: Learning/Behavioral

Answer 28

dissociation learned through operant conditioning (negative reinforcement for forgetting); social reinforcement: can escape responsibility for actions, a learned social role

Question 29

DID: Self-Hypnosis

Answer 29

hypnosis can make people forget personal details; kids are more suggestible and suceptible to hypnosis

Question 30

DID: Cognitive (State-Dependent Memory)

Answer 30

it is easier for anyone to remember something when you are in the same room it occurs/have the same emotiona again/take the same drug; personalities are characterized by mood states, and strong emotions can cause shifts to an alter

Question 31

DID: Biological

Answer 31

no evidence of inheritable cause, some genetic predisposition to hypnotizability; often had insecure attachment as children; slightly smaller amygdala and hippocampus (similar to PTSD); some research with orbital frontal lobe

Question 32

Dissociative Amnesia Treatment

Answer 32

patient recovers on their own

Question 33

Depersonalization Treatment

Answer 33

gradually recover on their own; therapy can be helpful (recognizing symptoms and getting a diagnosis), relieves anxiety and depression to confront stressor; psychodynamic (along with EMDR) and cognitive/behavioral therapies

Question 34

DID Treatment

Answer 34

do not recover on their own, and often do not reover with treatment; long-term therapy to build trust, psychodynamic therapy, hypnosis, skillbuilding (interpersonal, impulse control); helps client recognize nature of disorder, uncover memory gaps, and integrate alters; no medication

Question 35

Dissociation

Answer 35

a major disruption in memory