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Dissociative experiences can be distressing and impairing, often undermining the individual's sense of self-control. They can include phenomena such as amnesia, absorption, and derealization/depersonalization. To ascertain the presence of these symptoms across psychiatric disorders, researchers conducted a meta-analysis — the first in 20 years — that included 216 articles (N=15,219 individuals).
All studies assessed dissociative symptoms with either of two versions of the commonly used 100-point Dissociative Experience Scale (DES). Compared with normal populations (range of mean scores, 8–12), the highest scores were found, unsurprisingly, in individuals diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (mean score, 49; based on 29 publications;…