title: Psychometric properties of the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale in a sample of Italian adolescents.
abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the Italian translation of the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES). A sample of 1,806 high-school students between the ages of 13 and 18 years, recruited in 6 Italian cities, completed the A-DES. The A-DES showed high internal consistency, excellent item-to-scale homogeneity, good split-half reliability, and a single-factor structure. The scores of the Italian adolescents were comparable to those found in previous research with the measure. No gender differences were found in mean A-DES scores, but boys and girls showed different patterns of responses on A-DES items. Age differences were also found, with 13- and 18-year-old students scoring higher on the measure than the other participants. A cluster analysis showed that participants could be consistently grouped into 2 clusters of low- and high-dissociative adolescents. This study supports the A-DES as a reliable and valid screening measure for dissociative symptoms in adolescents.
authors.affiliation: a Faculty of Human and Social Sciences , Kore University of Enna , Enna , Italy.
authors.forename: Adriano
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Schimmenti
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D004213:Dissociative Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*
keywords: A-DES; Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale; adolescents; dissociation; reliability; validity