OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the clinical features
of dissociative identity disorder in a group of Turkish patients as
assessed with a structured interview. METHOD: Thirty-five consecutive
patients at the dissociative disorders program of a university psychiatric
clinic who met the DSM-IV criteria for dissociative identity disorder were
included in this study. The subjects were assessed with the Turkish
versions of the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule and the
Dissociative Experiences Scale. A descriptive analysis of the clinical
features was carried out. RESULTS: Most (88.6%) of the patients were women.
The mean age of the group was 22.8 years. Childhood physical or sexual
abuse was reported by 77.1% of the patients. The mean Dissociative
Experiences Scale score was 49.1. The patients reported an average of 12.5
somatic symptoms, 6.2 Schneiderian symptoms, 10.0 secondary features of the
disorder, 3.8 borderline personality disorder criteria, and 4.1
extrasensory experiences. CONCLUSIONS: Dissociative identity disorder has a
stable, consistent set of features throughout North America, in the
Netherlands, and in Turkey. Cross-cultural research using standardized
assessment measures will be invaluable in further illumination of the
validity of this widely neglected psychiatric category.
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