Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES)
The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is a psychological screening test designed to measure the amount of dissociation; it was created by Eve Bernstein Calson and Frank Putman in 1986 to aid the diagnosis of DID.[1] The DES is useful for screening of Dissociative Identity Disorder and other dissociative disorders (it has a false-negative rate of 1%), but not as a diagnostic instrument. [2] It is useful in determining whether a full diagnostic test should be considered, such as the SCID-D, which is a structured interview given by a trained clinician.
The Dissociative Experiences Scale is a simple, quick, and validated questionnaire that is used to screen for dissociative symptoms, with variations for children and adolescents. Tests such as the DES provide a quick method of screening subjects so that the more time-consuming structured clinical interview can be used in the group with high Dissociative Experiences Scale scores. Other questionnaires include the Perceptual Alterations Scale, Questionnaire on Experiences of Dissociation, Dissociation Questionnaire, and the Mini-SCIDD. All are strongly inter-correlated and except the Mini-SCIDD, all incorporate absorption of a normal part of personality involving narrowing or broadening of attention.
Dissociative Experiences Scale Taxon[edit]
There is a shorter Dissociative Experiences Scale version, only including symptoms that are seen as pathological (i.e. non-normal dissociation). The theory was that there was a clear distinction between pathological and non-pathological dissociation. The idea was that excluding non-pathological dissociative symptoms would make the Dissociative Experiences Scale more reliable (giving less false positives).
It's value has been disputed. It seems to be just as (un)reliable for diagnosing as the normal Dissociative Experiences Scale. It seems to just catch the most extreme forms of the dissociative disorders. [2] And it is even less reliable than the Dissociative Experiences Scale: it has more false-positives and more false-negatives. [2]:435 Moreover, it seems to be unstable over time, suggesting there is not an actual dissociative taxon. [3]
The Dissociative Experiences Scale with the taxon calculator can be downloaded from the ISST-D website.
References[edit]
- ^ Putnam; Bernstein, Eve M. (1986). Development, reliability, and validity of a dissociation scale. The Journal of nervous and mental disease, volume 174, issue 12, page 727-735.
- ^ a b c Leavitt. Dissociative Experiences Scale Taxon and Measurement of Dissociative Pathology: Does the Taxon Add to an Understanding of Dissociation and Its Associated Pathologies?. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, volume 6, issue 4, 1 January 1999, page 427–440. (doi:10.1023/A:1026275916184)
- ^ Watson. Investigating the construct validity of the dissociative taxon: Stability analyses of normal and pathological dissociation.. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, volume 112, issue 2, 1 January 2003, page 298–305. (doi:10.1037/0021-843X.112.2.298)
