Trauma and dissociation

This study explored the links between childhood sexual abuse, current trauma, dissociation and dissociative identity disorder. It was hypothesized that those who had suffered childhood trauma and who were then re-traumatized in adulthood would show more signs of dissociation than those who suffered only early or recent trauma, or neither. This study had three sites. In Winnipeg and Nova Scotia private therapists referred participants who had suffered trauma, and at Acadia University young women were drawn from the psychology department subject pool. The 75 participants, all of whom were female, completed a trauma scale, a dissociative measure and the MPD section of the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule, which screens for features associated with DID. Persons who had suffered early and recent trauma scored significantly higher on measures of dissociation and the MPD section of the DDIS. There were main effects for both types of trauma and a Significant interaction. On the trauma scale, those who suffered childhood trauma were more likely to report trauma symptoms than other participants. The results, especially the interaction of childhood and recent trauma, suggest that history of childhood abuse and later re-victimization in adulthood produce dissociative responses.