Dissociative Experiences Scale

Description

The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is a 28-item self-report questionnaire that measures the frequency of dissociative experiences. It was developed by Kenneth S. Bowers and Ernest R. Coons in 1979. The DES is widely used in research and clinical settings to assess dissociative symptoms.

Definition

Dissociation is a mental process that involves a disconnection from one’s thoughts, feelings, memories, sense of identity, or sense of the environment. Dissociative symptoms can range from mild to severe and can include:

• Feeling detached from oneself or one’s surroundings
• Feeling like one is watching oneself from outside one’s body
• Memory gaps
• Identity confusion
• Depersonalization
• Derealization

History

The concept of dissociation has been around for centuries, but it was not until the late 19th century that it began to be studied scientifically. In 1887, Pierre Janet coined the term “dissociation” to describe a mental process that he believed was responsible for a variety of psychological symptoms, including amnesia, fugue states, and multiple personality disorder.

In the early 20th century, dissociation was largely ignored by the medical community. However, interest in dissociation began to revive in the 1970s, as researchers began to study its role in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The DES was developed in this era as a tool for measuring dissociative symptoms in research and clinical settings.

Characteristics

The DES is a self-report questionnaire that consists of 28 items. Each item asks the respondent to rate the frequency with which they have experienced a particular dissociative symptom. The items are rated on a scale of 0 (never) to 100 (always).

The DES has been shown to be a reliable and valid measure of dissociative symptoms. It has been used in a variety of research studies to assess the prevalence of dissociation in different populations, as well as to study the relationship between dissociation and other psychological disorders.

The DES is also used in clinical settings to assess dissociative symptoms. It can be used to screen for dissociative disorders, such as dissociative identity disorder (DID), and to monitor the severity of dissociative symptoms over time.

Sources

• Bowers, K. S., & Coons, E. R. (1979). Scale for the assessment of reported dissociative experiences. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 167(12), 888-895.
• Cardeña, E. (1994). The domain of dissociation. In S. J. Lynn & J. R. Rhue (Eds.), Dissociation: Clinical and theoretical aspects (pp. 1-17). New York: Guilford Press.
• Dell, P. F. (2006). Dissociation: A current overview. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 29(4), 849-873.
• ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders: Diagnostic Criteria for Research (1992). Geneva: World Health Organization.
• International Society for the Study of Dissociation. (2013). ISSD Practice Guidelines for the Assessment of Dissociation. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 14(4), 416-445.
• American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.

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The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES II)‚ the 1993 revised version (Carlson & Putnam‚ 1993) is a 28-item self report measure of the frequency of dissociative experiences. The change in the DES II (Carlson & Putnam‚ 1993) is considered to “be so minor that we feel confident that the  new version will yield results comparable to those of the old version .

Note:  This version of the DES‚ which is the one used most frequently in my laboratory‚ is essentially the same as the “DES II” provided by Carlson & Putnam (Dissociation‚ 1993)‚ with very minor changes to the wording of the instructions.  The 11-point Likert-type response scale for the DES II is far more convenient than the 10-centimeter visual analogue scale of the original DES‚ especially for large-scale testing sessions.

This questionnaire consists of 28 questions about experiences that you may have in your daily life. We are interested in how often you have these experiences. It is important‚ however‚ that your answers show how often these experiences happen to you when you are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

To answer the questions‚ please determine to what degree the experience described in the question applies to you and indicate the percentage of the time you have the experience:

  (Never)  0%-‎–‎-10-‎–‎-20-‎–‎-30-‎–‎-40-‎–‎-50-‎–‎-60-‎–‎-70-‎–‎-80-‎–‎-90-‎–‎-100%  (Always)

_____01. Some people have the experience of driving or riding in a car or bus or subway and suddenly realizing that they don’t remember Indicate what has happened during all or part of the trip. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____02. Some people find that sometimes they are listening to someone talk and they suddenly realize that they did not hear part or all of what was said. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____03. Some people have the experience of finding themselves in a place and ha‎ving no idea how they got there. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____04. Some people have the experience of finding themselves dressed in clothes that they don’t remember buying. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____05. Some people have the experience of finding new things among their belongings that they do not remember buying. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____06. Some people sometimes find that they are approached by people that they do not know who call them by another name or insist that they have met them before. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____07. Some people sometimes have the experience of feeling as though they are standing next to themselves or watching themselves do something and they actually see themselves as if they were looking at another person. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____08. Some people are told that they sometimes do not recognize friends or family members. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____09. Some people find that they have no memory for some important events in their lives (for example‚ a wedding or graduation). Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____10. Some people have the experience of being accused of lying when they do not think that they have lied. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____11. Some people have the experience of looking in a mirror and not recognizing themselves. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____12. Some people have the experience of feeling that other people‚ objects‚ and the world around them are not real. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____13. Some people sometimes have the experience of feeling that their body does not seem to belong to them. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____14. Some people have the experience of sometimes remembering a past event so vividly that they feel as if they were reliving that event. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____15. Some people have the experience of not being sure whether things that they remember happening really did happen or whether they just dreamed them. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____16. Some people have the experience of being in a familiar place but finding it strange and unfamiliar. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____17. Some people find that when they are watching television or a movie they become so absorbed in the story that they are unaware of other events happening around them. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____18. Some people sometimes find that they become so involved in a fantasy or daydream that it feels as though it were really happening to them. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____19. Some people find that they sometimes are able to ignore pain. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____20. Some people find that they sometimes sit staring off into space‚ thinking of nothing‚ and are not aware of the passage of time. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____21. Some people sometimes find that when they are alone they talk out loud to themselves. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____22. Some people find that in one situation they may act so differently compared with another situation that they feel almost as if they were two different people. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____23. Some people sometimes find that in certain situations they are able to do things with amazing ease and spontaneity that would usually be difficult for them (for example‚ sports‚ work‚ social situations‚ etc.). Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____24. Some people sometimes find that they cannot remember whether they have done something or have just thought about doing that thing (for example‚ not knowing whether they have just mailed a letter or have just thought about mailing it). Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____25. Some people find evidence that they have done things that they do not remember doing. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____26. Some people sometimes find writings‚ drawings‚ or notes among their belongings that they must have done but cannot remember doing. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____27. Some people sometimes find that they hear voices inside their head that tell them to do things or comment on things that they are doing. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.

_____28. Some people sometimes feel as if they are looking at the world through a fog so that people and objects appear far away or unclear. Indicate what percentage of the time this happens to you.