PSYC 444 - Topic 9: Reading on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES & DES-T)

Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES and DES-T)

Introduction to DES

  • Developed by Drs. Eve Bernstein Carlson and Frank W. Putnam in 1986 at the National Institutes of Mental Health.

  • Purpose: Quantifies level of dissociative symptoms in patients.

  • Notably elevated in trauma-related disorders such as PTSD and dissociative disorders, but less significant in other psychiatric conditions like temporal lobe epilepsy.

  • Structure: 28 items describing common dissociative experiences. Respondents indicate the percentage of time (0%-100%) they experience each symptom.

  • Scoring: Overall DES score is the average of individual scores. A score of 20 or more may indicate potential trauma-related or dissociative disorders.

  • Median DES scores from original study participants:

    • Normals: 4.28

    • Agoraphobia: 7.38

    • Schizophrenia: 20.63

    • PTSD: 31.30

    • Dissociative identity disorder: 57.10

Versions of DES

  • DES-I: Respondents make slash marks on a 100-mm line to estimate frequency of specific dissociative experiences.

  • DES-II: Respondents circle a percentage number indicating frequency and is considered easier to complete. Reliability and validity matched the original DES.

DES Subscales

  1. Amnestic Dissociation Subscale: Items 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 25, 26

  2. Absorption and Imaginative Involvement Subscale: Items 2, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23

  3. Depersonalization and Derealization Subscale: Items 7, 11, 12, 13, 27, 28

  • Scoring Subscales: Total score for each subscale is calculated by averaging item scores.

Dissociative Experiences Scale Taxon (DES-T)

  • Definition: An eight-item subscale of DES designed for more precise assessment of pathological dissociation.

  • Format: Identical to the full-scale DES, scoring from 1 to 100.

  • Significance: It captures nearly 90% of cases of DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) and DDNOS (Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified) with a cutoff score of 20.

Example Questions from the DES

  • Respondents rate their experiences on a scale from 0% to 100% based on how often they experience the following:

  1. Driving a car and forgetting parts of the trip

  2. Listening to someone and not hearing what was said

  3. Finding oneself in a place with no memory of how they got there

  4. Being dressed in clothes they don’t remember wearing

  5. Discovering new items in their possessions without recollection of obtaining them

  6. Encountering strangers who claim to know them

  7. Experiencing disassociation while watching oneself

  8. Not recognizing friends or family members

  9. Lack of memory for important life events

  10. Being accused of lying when one feels they have not

Common Patterns in Dissociative Experiences

  • Many individuals report feeling disconnected from themselves or surroundings, experiences of time distortion, and lapses in memory.

  • Patients often experience a blend of experiences that may be casual or alarming, indicating varying depths of dissociative symptoms.

Importance of DES in Clinical Settings

  • The DES serves as an effective clinical screening tool to identify trauma-related disorders.

  • Provides insight into the prevalence and manifestations of dissociative experiences in both clinical and research contexts.