title: Measuring fragmentation in dissociative identity disorder: the integration measure and relationship to switching and time in therapy.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Some people with dissociative identity disorder (DID) have very little communication or awareness among the parts of their identity, while others experience a great deal of cooperation among alternate identities. Previous research on this topic has been sparse. Currently, there is no empirical measure of integration versus fragmentation in a person with DID. In this study, we report the development of such a measure.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The goal of this study was to pilot the integration measure (IM) and to address its psychometric properties and relationships to other measures. The IM is the first standardized measure of integration in DID.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eleven women with DID participated in an experiment that included a variety of tasks. They filled out questionnaires about trauma and dissociation as well as the IM. They also provided verbal results about switching among alternate identities during the study sessions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants switched among identities an average of 5.8 times during the first session, and switching was highly correlated with trauma. Integration was related to switching, though this relationship may be non-linear. Integration was not related to time in psychotherapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The IM provides a useful beginning to quantify and study integration and fragmentation in DID. Directions for future research are also discussed, including expanding the IM from this pilot. The IM may be useful in treatment settings to assess progress or change over time.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Department, Boise State University, Boise, ID, USA.
authors.forename: M Rose
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Barlow
authors.affiliation: McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA ; Harvard Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, Boston, MA, USA.
authors.forename: James A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Chu
keywords: Dissociative identity disorder; alternate identity; awareness; betrayal trauma; dissociation; integration measure; measurement; psychotherapy