Psychologists have described the concept of dissociation for centuries. The earliestdescription was by Pierre Janet (Van der Hart & Friedman, 1989). What is understood to be the borderline disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and conversion disorder stemmed out of the earlier concept of hysteria (Panagioti, Gooding &Tarrier, 2009).Particularly, Janet established that humans can have different perceptions of reality and that these perceptions can be distorted due to psychological processes. By studying hysteria, Janet observed certain psychological changes in patients, which formed the foundation for understanding dissociation. A major conclusion that Janet made was that dissociation is closely associated with hysteria (Van der Hart & Friedman, 1989). Janet’s findings were a result of a study on patients with hypnosis. However, there was a dispute about hypnosis in Janet’s description of the dissociation, just about the time when Freud published works outlining findings of a psychoanalytic case study (Van der Hart & Friedman, 1989).Regardless this, much later, psychologists found the use of hypnotherapy as a clinical and efficient intervention for patients. Specialistsalso acknowledge the therapy for treatment of other complications such as irritable bowel syndrome depression, and skin problems, among others (Talley & Spiller, 2002). Currently, the understanding of this psychopathology derives greatly from Janet’s description of dissociation.

A number of works have described and define the dissociation in detail. While describing dissociation with reference to childhood experiences, Ross et. al(1991) state that dissociation is a strategy for the body to cope with childhood trauma. Therefore, Ross et. al (1991) hold the opinion that dissociation is an adaptive psychological defensive mechanism. For instance, the dissociationhelps the victims to deal with childhood emotions and feelings. Also, research shows that dissociation is a result of the disruption of the normal coordination between a person’s behavior, feelings, thoughts and memory, which is often facilitated by periods of adversity (Briere, 1992).According to the American Psychiatric Association, dissociation is associated with distortions of time, lack of continuous consciousness, disorientation from reality and losing asense of personality (Hart, Nijenhuis& Steele, 2005). In a similar description, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) defines dissociation as “a disruption in the usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment, it may be sudden,gradual, transient or chronic” (Degun-Mather, 2006, p.60). In a more recent description of dissociation, Nijenhuis& Van der Hart (2011) focused on four subsystems that are anassociation with adversity. These are somatoform, psychoform, positive and negative subsystems. The first two subsystems deal with loss of motor control and amnesia respectively. On the other hand, the positive subsystem is associated with memory flashes, while the negative one is mainly associated with paralysis and loss of memory (Nijenhuis& Van der Hart, 2011).The descriptions agree that memory loss is a key feature of the condition and that dissociation is a response toadversity.

Scholars have discussed dissociation within the scope of childhood adversity. (Sanders &Giolas, 1991; Ross et al., 1991; Peterson, 1991). Sanders &Giolas (1991) focused on studying dissociation withina heterogeneous group of disturbed adolescents and associated dissociation to pre-recorded childhood stress and abuse. According to their results, dissociation represents a reaction to adversity experienced in childhood.In a similar way, a study addressed the association between child abuse and dissociation and suggested a number of diagnostic criteria that psychologists may use to evaluate the victims(Peterson’s 1991). In a primary study of dissociation, Ross et al. (1991) interviewed 102 individuals with a history of child abuse and found thatdissociation, as a multiple personality disorder, was a response to chronic childhood adversity. These studies, among others (Chu & Dill, 1990, Nash et al., 1993; Putnam, Helmers&Tricket, 1993) have linked dissociation to childhood abuse experiences. Some studies, such as Chu & Dill (1990), identify specific forms of abuse, such as sexual abuse. Bernstein &Putnam’s (1986) paper details the Dissociative Experiences Scalemethodology, which is used to make the correlation between the condition and childhood abuse.

Scholars have empirically investigated dissociation among different populations. Dell & Eisenhower (1990) investigated 11 adolescents to determine the nature of their multiple personality disorder. All the participants had a history of childhood trauma. Dell & Eisenhower (1990) observed that a majority had fairly varying levels of academic performance. Other conditions that the participants exhibited included imaginary voices, severe depression, sudden alterations of behavior, day-dreams, forgetfulness and mood bursts (Dell & Eisenhower, 1990).

In their empirical investigation, Sanders &Giolas (1991) sampled a population of 47 adolescents, with 35 being female and 12 being male.The study’s objective was to investigate the relationship existing between dissociation and other psychological elements such as abuse and adversity. The researchers put the participantsin a controlled environment of a private mental hospital for a period between 1 and 13 weeks. To evaluate them clinically, Sanders &Giolas (1991) applied a Dissociative Experience Scale and abuse questionnaire. According to the results of the investigation, the researchers found that there was a significant correlation between childhood abuse and the participants’ condition.

There are more recent studies that have been dedicated to exploring the relationship between dissociation and childhood adversity (Schafer et al., 2012; Watson et al.,2006). Schafer et al. (2012) studied 145 patientssuffering from schizophrenia spectrum disorder so to establish the stability of dissociative symptoms, as well as determining the relationship between dissociation and childhood adversity. According to the findings of their study, the symptoms were most likely to decrease with time. Moreover, they found out that childhood sexual abuse was the best clinical predictor of dissociation when the patients were stabilised. In conclusion, Schafer et al. (2012) gave similar insights to earlier studies, indicating that dissociative symptoms are associated with childhood abuse. Similarly, Watson et al. (2006) investigated the relationship between childhood trauma and dissociation, among patients that exhibited borderline personality disorder. Using a childhood trauma questionnaire subscale, they investigated 139 patients, who reported various cases of childhood abuse such as emotional neglect and physical abuse. They found that among patients with borderline personality, dissociation increased with higher levels of childhood abuse. However, Watson et al. (2006) concluded emotional abuse and neglect were the least contributors to the predictability of dissociation. In general, the literature reviewed above has linked the development of dissociative disorders to child abuses. However, the researchers also focused on physical and emotional abuse.

Few studies have investigateddissociation among universitystudents (Martinez-Taboas& Bernal, 2000; Ray & Lukens, 1995; Sandberg & Lynn, 1992). Initially, there had beensome studies, both clinical and experimental, which indicated that there is a significant association between dissociative disorders and other psychological symptoms. Martinez-Taboas& Bernal (2000) used 198 Puerto Rican university students to study the relationship between thedifferent type of childhood traumatic experiences and dissociative experiences. The study also considered other factors such as symptoms of depression and psychopathology. This study applied the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES). Confirming the study’s hypothesis, the results showed that patients with psychological malaise, and who scored highly on the DES scale, had a history of severe traumatic experiences. The researchers also found that the psychometric characteristics of the DES were almost similar across countries. In conclusion, Martinez-Taboas& Bernal (2000) said that patients suffering from dissociative disorders used them as adefenseagainst the traumatic experiences.

Not many studies have been published outlining a research conducted using a non-clinical population as mentioned. Ray &Luken’s (1995) presented a paper investigating self-reported abuse and dissociative characteristics in a non-clinical setting. The researchers sampled a total of 737 college students. The researchers used the DES and found out that there was a positive relationship (of r=0.38) between the college students’ self-reported abuse and their dissociative disorders. There was also a significant correlation of r=0.30 between the DES and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). In another similar study, Sandberg & Lynn (1992) investigated the dissociative experiences among female students in college. Other variables of the study included psychopathology, adjustment, child and adolescent experiences. The findings of this study demonstrated a difference facilitated by different scores in the DES. Those that scored higher reported more severepsychopathology, poor coping in college, as well as a range of physical abuses.

Hudson& Pope (1987) noted that despite there being evidence that depression significantly influences the nature of dissociation in patients with bulimia, there are few studies that addressed focus on it. Based on this, a study to examinethe role of depression in dissociation for patients that are diagnosed with bulimia nervosa(Greeneset al. 1993). The researchers used DES results among the patients with bulimia, one group having depression and the other group not having depression. The findings of their studies indicated that depression is associated with higher DES scale scores, however, diagnosis of bulimia nervosa may not necessarily be associated with the higher DES scores for patients suffering from depression.

In another study, Parlaret al. (2015) conducted a clinical research with the aim of showing that dissociativesymptoms are related with reduced neuropsychological performance for patients that report chronic depression, and who had a history of adversity. Parlaret al. (2015) conducted their study with an acknowledgment that previous works indicated that dissociative symptoms significantly impactneuropsychological performance, especially among patients with a history of adversity. As such, they focused on examining the dissociative symptoms among patients with persistent major depression (MDD) and a history of adversity. With a population of 23 participants, Parlaret al. (2013) found that there was higher de-realisation, closely associated with memory, for patients with MDD. They concluded that dissociative symptoms are factors significantly related to neurological dysfunctions among patients suffering from depression and a history of adversity. In a similar study, Molina-Serrano et al. (2008) found that patients with a history of adversity were highly likely to report higher levels of dissociative symptoms than those without.

There is a paucity of research examining the impact of dissociation on academic functioning.Literature background provided little evidence that childhood adversity which contributes to other psychological issues including dissociation has been associated with the performance of the students, however to the best of the researcher knowledge no known study has been conducted to examine the relationship between dissociation and academic performance directly among university students, only one study conducted to examine the relationship between dissociative symptoms and students performance in school. A number of 149 participants which included youths and their parents, teachers’ reports about their performance at school was sampled in this study. Findings showed that having dissociative symptoms resulted to low academic functioning.(perzow et al 2013).

Studies have outlined the statistics for children who have been victims of sexual abuse during their adolescent years, as well as parental neglect (Flisheret al., 1997; Gorey & Leslie, 1997).Flisheret al. (1997) used a sample of 665 adolescents and interviewed them using the Methods for the Epidemiology of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (MECA) and found that 25% of the participants reported cases of child abuse. The impact of their adversity included conditions such as oppositional defiant disorder and agoraphobia and dissociation. In conclusion, Flisheret al. (1997) recommended that there was aneed to investigate school going children, and application of interventions to improve their social competence. In a similar study, Gorey & Leslie (1997) focused on examining the impact of sexual abuse and other forms of emotional neglect. They suggested an improvement to the methodology applied in studying population-based abuse, with the objective if designing intervention methods that help the students to cope in their academics.

Shonk&Cicchetti (2001) conducted a study focusing on bad parenting and its impact on academic performance. Besides the academic performance, their study postulated that child adversity was responsible for other psychological problems such as ego resiliency and control, among others that affected their socialisation and study. They used a sample of 229 teenagers with a problem of lack of socio-economic empowerment, with 146 of these having reported adversity. According to the results of their investigations, the 146 children had lower ego resiliency and multiple forms of academic underachievement (Shonk&Cicchetti, 2006). The findings led to the conclusion that the adversity was responsible for theerratic behavior and social incompetence, which had a direct negative effect on the children’s academic performances. Other studies indicate the same results (Slade &Wissow, 2007; Adejobiet al., 2013). Slade&Wissowused covariate in multivariate analyses for adolescents in high school,and used family side-effect such as intense maltreatment to reach their conclusion. As well, Adejobiand his colleagues found similar findings using a sample of students from Nigeria (Adejobiet al., 2013).

With these observations, many scholars are of the opinion that the childhood experiences are likely to affect the children’s transition into adulthood, and also affecting their socio-economic wellbeing (Cawley, Heckman &Vytlacil, 2001; Heckman &Rubinstein, 2001). Focusing on adults who experienced childhood adversity that resulted in poor academic performance, Cawleyet al. (2001) tested the association between cognitive ability and earnings, and established that these variables were associated with school performance, which in turn, is influenced by childhood experiences and other psychological conditions, as found in the studies reviewed earlier. The implications of the study are similar to that of Heckman & Rubinstein (2001), who studied the association between non-cognitive skills as the variable that influences school performance and earnings.

The validity of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) has been investigated in studies (Carlson et al., 1993). In their clinical setting study, Carlson et al. (1993) used a sampleof 1051 adults from different geographical locations. The majority of the participants (63%) were female, and the average age was 34.8 years. According to their results, the DES was a qualified tool for use on patients with multiple personality disorders. The scale also showed that the mean score for persons with multiple disorders was higher than those without. Moreover, the DES accurately classified subjects into categories of those with multiple personality disorders, and those without (Carlson et al., 1993), hence approving its validity.

Carlson &Putnam (1993) took the26-item scale in a clinical setting, and revised, thereafter using it among participants who were asked to identify the percentage of time that they had certain experiences. With responses that were marked between 0-100%, Carlson and Putnam used the results tocome up with DES-II. However, the reliability and validity of the tool were still questioned as per the changes that they made. In defense of DES-II, Carlsonand Putnam (1993) validated the norms and psychometric properties that were there from the earlier version. Their stance was supported by researchers who worked on the original tool (Berstein&Putnam, 1989, Carlson et al., 1993). Later, the DES-II came to beconsidered a reliable and valid tool, as well as one that is easy to administer and evaluate the scores. Regardless, critics, such as Goldberg (1999) still questioned its ease of use, mainly because of the long and complex wording.

Much later, the dissociative symptoms of the tool were established using a Finnish version of the tool (Maaranenet al., 2008). In application, the DES tool has a total of 28 items, measured between 0-100, and can be self-administered for a period of about 10 minutes (Maaranenet al.,2008). The mean scores are used to evaluate the individual. Individuals who score highly are predicted to have more severe forms of dissociative symptoms. Earlier studies have established different figures for the? reliability (Van Ijzendoorn&Schuengel, 1996; Steinberg, Rounsavill&Cicchetti, 1991). The figure is calculated based on the mean of eight items (Steinberg, Rounsavill&Cicchetti, 1991). According to Maaranenet al. (2008),scores that are higher than 20 are indicative of high dissociative experiences. The results that the DES tool yields demonstrated its sensitivity and specificity, for the purpose of use as a screening tool.

The DES has also been tested across demographics to establish its validity and reliability. One of the most comprehensive demographic tests of the scale was conducted to evaluate its use across races (Douglas, 2009). Douglas tested it using a populationof 109 whites and 127 ethnic minorities from a University in America. According to the study’s results, there were no significant differences in the results as a function of race or ethnicity. As well, Douglas (2009) did not find any significant discrepancies in the results as per the indication of the psychological adjustment indicators. The conclusion of the study was that race moderates the relationship between dissociation and psychological outcomes. Therefore, the validity and reliability of the DES are not limited by the function of race.

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Posted on May 27, 2016Author TutorCategories Question, Questions