title: Prevalence of dissociative experiences in a community sample: relationship to gender, ethnicity, and substance use.
abstract: This study examined the relationship between gender, ethnicity, substance use, and dissociation in a community sample of adults. Telephone interviews were conducted using, among others, measures of dissociation (Dissociative Experiences Scale-Taxon [DES-T]) and alcohol use (Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT]) to screen a representative sample of 1007 adults in Memphis, Tennessee. Six percent of respondents endorsed four or more lifetime dissociative symptoms, whereas approximately one third of respondents endorsed at least one symptom. Only 2% were identified as having pathological dissociation on the DES-T. DES-T scores were significantly associated with gender (male), ethnicity (African-American), and harmful alcohol use. Dissociative symptoms appear to be relatively common in the population, but only a small proportion of individuals suffer from significant levels of dissociation. Further assessment of the link between demographic factors and the severity and expression of dissociative phenomena in nonclinical samples is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, 8950 Villa La Jolla Drive, Suite 2243, La Jolla, California 92037, USA.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Seedat
authors.forename: Murray B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Forde
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015897:Comorbidity; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000523:psychology; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012737:Sex Factors; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013714:Tennessee / Q000453:epidemiology