Journal of trauma & dissociation : the official journal of the International Society for the Study of Dissociation (ISSD)
-
J Trauma Dissociation · Jan 2011
Are major dissociative disorders characterized by a qualitatively different kind of dissociation?
A total of 66 patients with a major dissociative disorder, 54 patients with nondissociative disorders, and 30 nonclinical controls were administered the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders-Revised, the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Multidimensional Inventory of Dissociation, and the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised. Dissociative patients reported significantly more dissociative and nondissociative symptoms than did nondissociative patients and nonclinical controls. When general psychopathology was controlled, the dissociation scores of dissociative patients were still significantly higher than those of both other groups, whereas the dissociation scores of nondissociative patients and nonclinical controls no longer differed. ⋯ Specifically, the results of this study suggest that the dissociation that occurs in major dissociative disorders (i.e., dissociative identity disorder [DID] and dissociative disorder not otherwise specified, Type 1 [DDNOS-1]) is qualitatively different from the dissociation that occurs in persons who do not have a dissociative disorder. In contrast to previous research, the dissociation of persons who do not have a dissociative disorder is not limited to absorption; it covers a much wider range of phenomena. The authors hypothesize that different mechanisms produce the dissociation of persons with DID and DDNOS-1 as opposed to the dissociation of persons who do not have a dissociative disorder.
-
Few studies have investigated the impact of deployment stressors on the mental health outcomes of women deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. This pilot study examined exposure to combat experiences and military sexual harassment in a sample of 54 active duty women and assessed the impact of these stressors on post-deployment posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and depressive symptoms. Within 3 months of returning from deployment to Iraq, participants completed (a) the Combat Experiences Scale and the Sexual Harassment Scale of the Deployment Risk and Resilience Inventory, (b) the Primary Care PTSD Screen, and (c) an abbreviated version of the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. ⋯ Approximately one third of the sample endorsed clinical or subclinical levels of PTSD symptoms, with 11% screening positive for PTSD and 9% to 14% of the sample endorsing depressive symptoms. Regression analyses revealed that combat experiences and sexual harassment jointly accounted for significant variance in post-deployment PTSD symptoms, whereas military sexual harassment was identified as the only unique significant predictor of these symptoms. Findings from the present study lend support to research demonstrating that military sexual trauma may be more highly associated with post-deployment PTSD symptoms than combat exposure among female service members and veterans.
-
J Trauma Dissociation · Jan 2011
Posttraumatic sequelae associated with military sexual trauma in female veterans enrolled in VA outpatient mental health clinics.
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between military sexual assault (MSA) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other symptoms associated with trauma, referred to as disorders of extreme stress not otherwise specified (DESNOS) or complex PTSD within a Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center outpatient mental health treatment-seeking sample. The present results focus on female Veterans only because of the low rates of endorsement of MSA among male Veterans resulting in a sample too small to use in analyses. ⋯ VA patients reporting MSA may represent notably heterogeneous groups that include more complex posttraumatic reactions. Treatment interventions focused on complex PTSD may be warranted for a subset of female veterans who endorse MSA.
-
J Trauma Dissociation · Jan 2007
Traumatized offenders: don't look now, but your jail's also your mental health center.
There are more than a million prison and jail inmates in the United States who have mental illness. As funding for State Hospitals has decreased, funding for needed community programs has often not kept pace. This has led to a population of homeless mentally ill, many of whom have co-occurring substance use disorders. ⋯ The mentally ill prisoner is most often the victim of extreme family turmoil including physical and/or sexual abuse, parental substance dependence, and parental incarceration. Prisons and jails most often do not provide services for this highly traumatized population or recognize the need for such services. The authors report on problematic aspects of mental health care in prisons, and on several attempts to establish 'trauma-aware' care within the legal system.