Am J Psychiatry 1991; 148:1717-1720
Copyright © 1991 by American Psychiatric Association
The frequency of multiple personality disorder among psychiatric inpatients
CA Ross, G Anderson, WP Fleisher and GR Norton
Department of Psychiatry, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg.
OBJECTIVE: A 2-year study was undertaken to determine the frequency of
multiple personality disorder among general adult psychiatric inpatients.
METHOD: All individuals admitted to two 23-bed acute care wards in a
teaching hospital in Winnipeg, Man., were screened with the Dissociative
Experiences Scale. Individuals with prior diagnoses of multiple personality
disorder were excluded. All subjects scoring 20 or higher on the
Dissociative Experiences Scale were interviewed with the Dissociative
Disorders Interview Schedule. Then subjects with a diagnosis of multiple
personality disorder and comparison subjects were interviewed by a
clinician who was blind to all research data. RESULTS: A total of 299
subjects completed the Dissociative Experiences Scale and 80 received a
structured diagnostic interview. Ten subjects (3.3%) had clinically
confirmed multiple personality disorder. CONCLUSIONS: If these results are
replicated and accepted, multiple personality disorder will become a
serious consideration in the differential diagnosis of many psychiatric
patients.
