Am J Psychiatry 1996; 153:1329-1333
Copyright © 1996 by American Psychiatric Association
Structured interview data on 35 cases of dissociative identity disorder in Turkey
V Sar, LI Yargic and H Tutkun
Clinical Psychotherapy Unit, Istanbul Medical Faculty, University of Istanbul, Turkey.
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.
