Am J Psychiatry 1992; 149:88-92
Copyright © 1992 by American Psychiatric Association
Multiple personality disorder in Switzerland
J Modestin
Psychiatric University Clinic, Bern, Switzerland.
OBJECTIVE: There are no reliable data on the prevalence of multiple
personality disorder. The objective of the study was to determine whether
and, if so, how frequently patients with multiple personality disorder are
encountered and diagnosed in Switzerland. METHOD: All qualified Swiss
psychiatrists were sent a questionnaire on multiple personality disorder
along with the DSM-III description of multiple personality disorder and
three case examples. A total of 836 psychiatrists (66%) answered after two
mailings, and 770 questionnaires qualified for evaluation. In addition, a
random sample of nonresponders were contacted by telephone. RESULTS: Three
percent of the psychiatrists indicated that, at the time of the inquiry,
they were treating or examining one or more patients who met DSM-III
criteria for multiple personality disorder, and 10% indicated that they had
seen multiple personality disorder at least once during their professional
career. The patients were not equally distributed among the psychiatrists;
three colleagues reported that they had seen much higher numbers of
patients with multiple personality disorder. The point prevalence of
multiple personality disorder among patients seen by psychiatrists in
Switzerland amounts to 0.05%-0.1%. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple personality
disorder appears to be a disorder that genuinely exists, even though it
occurs relatively rarely.
