title: Dissociation and fantasy proneness in psychiatric patients: a preliminary study.
abstract: Nonclinical studies found that dissociative experiences are intimately linked to a trait known as fantasy proneness. We examined the links among dissociative symptoms, fantasy proneness, and impulsivity in psychiatric outpatients. Our sample consisted of 22 patients with schizophrenia, 20 patients with a diagnosis of borderline personality disorder, and 19 patients with a major depressive disorder. For the whole sample, levels of dissociation were found to be related to fantasy proneness and impulsivity. There were group differences in dissociative symptoms, with patients with borderline personality disorder reporting more such symptoms than patients with either schizophrenia or major depressive disorder. The overlap between dissociation and fantasy proneness may have important ramifications for studies addressing comorbid phenomena of dissociative symptoms.
authors: Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Maastricht, The Netherlands. h.merckelbach@psychology.unimaas.nl
authors: Harald
authors: H
authors: Merckelbach
authors: Joost
authors: J
authors: à Campo
authors: Solange
authors: S
authors: Hardy
authors: Timo
authors: T
authors: Giesbrecht
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001883:Borderline Personality Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D007174:Disruptive, Impulse Control, and Conduct Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005201:Fantasy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000453:epidemiology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires