title: Psychoform and somatoform dissociation in a clinical sample of Australian adolescents.
abstract: Psychoform dissociation has been researched more than somatoform dissociation. The Somatoform Dissociation Questionnaire (SDQ-20), a commonly used adult measure of somatoform dissociation, is increasingly being used with adolescents internationally. We compared psychoform and somatoform dissociation in a mixed clinical adolescent sample. A total of 71 adolescents (12-18 years old) attending Australian community mental health and counseling services completed the SDQ-20 and the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale, a commonly used measure of adolescent psychoform dissociation. The participants' treating clinicians provided participants' demographic details and mental health diagnoses. We found that 41% of participants reported high levels of psychoform dissociation and 21% reported high levels of somatoform dissociation. Both dissociation types were positively correlated. Neither was significantly related to participants' age, gender, or mental health diagnoses. Participants with more than 1 Axis I mental health diagnosis had higher levels of somatoform dissociation than participants with only 1 or no Axis I mental health diagnosis. This study is the first to examine somatoform dissociation in Australian adolescents and enables initial international comparisons.
authors.affiliation: a School of Psychology , University of Newcastle , Callaghan , New South Wales , Australia.
authors.forename: Melanie A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Pullin
authors.forename: Rosemary A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Webster
authors.forename: Tanya L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Hanstock
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003156:Community Mental Health Services; D015897:Comorbidity; D003376:Counseling; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008016:Life Change Events; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D009517:New South Wales; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012016:Reference Values; D013001:Somatoform Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires