The essential feature of the Dissociative Disorders is a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception. The disturbance may be sudden or gradual, transient or chronic. The following disorders are included in this section:
Dissociative Amnesia is characterized by an inability to recall important personal information, usually of a traumatic or stressful nature, that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.
Dissociative Fugue is characterized by sudden, unexpected travel away from home or one’s customary place of work, accompanied by an inability to recall one’s past and confusion about personal identity or the assumption of a new identity.
Dissociative Identity Disorder (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder) is characterized by the presence of two or more distinct identities or personality states that recurrently take control of the individual’s behavior accompanied by an inability to recall important personal information that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness. It is a disorder characterized by identity fragmentation rather than a proliferation of separate personalities.
Depersonalization Disorder is characterized by a persistent or recurrent feeling of being detached from one’s mental processes or body that is accompanied by intact reality testing.
Dissociative Disorder Not Otherwise Specified is included for coding disorders in which the predominant feature is a dissociative symptom, but that do not meet the criteria for any specific Dissociative Disorder.
Dissociative symptoms are also included in the criteria sets for Acute Stress Disorder, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, and Somatization Disorder. An additional Dissociative Disorder diagnosis is not given if the dissociative symptoms occur exclusively during the course of one of these disorders. In some classifications, conversion reaction is considered to be a dissociative phenomenon; however, in DSM-IV, Conversion Disorder is placed in the “Somatoform Disorders” section to emphasize the importance of considering neurological or other general medical conditions in the differential diagnosis.
A cross-cultural perspective is particularly important in the evaluation of Dissociative Disorders because dissociative states are a common and accepted expression of cultural activities or religious experience in many societies. In most such instances, the dissociative states are not pathological and do not lead to significant distress, impairment, or help-seeking behavior. However, a number of culturally defined syndromes characterized by dissociation do cause distress and impairment and are recognized indigenously as manifestations of pathology, although the symptomatology may take different forms in different cultures, such as recurrent brief episodes of dissociative stupor or spirit possession in India.
