MMPI - 2 Items of the orth Carolina Dissociation Index and

This study aam;neJ nlntiQn.ships brlu.'mI two MMP/·2 scrtnl;ng in.slrummu for dWot:iativr: S)"mplomJ, lhe North Carolina Dis.wdalion Inda (NOJI) and PhiUipJ Dissociation &ale (PDS), and lhe Dissociative ExpmDues Srou (DES) in a clinirol sample ofadull sul'Vivon ojchildhood sauala~. TheDES and MMPI-2 wtrecomplLted by 138 WOmnl and 22 mffl. Cernlalions IxtW«n the ,yCJ)I, PDs. and DES total, flu/or (ammsia, ab.wrption/imaginatiw involunnent, and dtTtai;UlI;on/d~onaliUllion),and laxon (DES-T' scam WtTt' micultlfLtIJor merl and WOmnl. The Na)/ and PDS wen: pos;ti~l, cornwlLti; howt!lH":r, neithnwrnwlLti with DES amongeithtT llInl or WOlnnl. The PDS was posiliwly correlatLti with the DES amnesia Jactor and DES-T in llInl; howroer, internal consistnu:y oJthe PDS was quite low for Innl in our sample (.65). No Siif'lificalll cornialiolls were foulld betwt!f!11 the PDS alld DES in WOlllnl, IUslllis do lIot support the use ojeilhnthe PDS or NaJ/ (IS a sCTtming imrtmmnlt fOT dissociatiw S)'mptomatology in adults with hislones ofchi/dluxxl ~xuai abuse. Recentl)', twO measures ofdissociation ha\'e been developed using items from the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality In\'ento1)'-2 (MMPI-2; Butcher, Dahlstrom, Graham, Tellcgen, & Kacmmer, 1989), The North Carolina Dissociation Index (NeD!) (Mann, 1995) and the Phillips Dissociation Scale (PDS) (Phillips, 1994) were designed to pro\ide a means of screening for dissodath~S)mptomatology in settings where the MMPI-2 is routinely used, often as the prima1)' diagnostic inslrUmenL Although both the PDS and NCD! were constructed from MMPI-2 item, the two scales contain on I}' four common items. To date, no published studies ha\'e examined possible relationships between the twO scales. In addition, no subsequem investigations ha'"e been published that assess their ,'a1idity, including cross-\'a1idation in other populations. TIle current study\\'aS designed to assess the validil}' of the PDS and NCO!. The :-\COI (Mann, 1995) contains 16 items (see Table 1) from the MMPI-2, ten of \\"hich rna)' also be found in the M.MPI. NCD! scores correlated significamly\\ith measures of dissociation or related construCts in college students, including the dissociation factor of the Han'3rd Group Scale of Hrpnotic Susceptibilil}'. Fonn A (HGSHS:A) (Shor & Orne, 1962). the Perceptual Alteration Scale (PAS) (Sanders, 1986), lhe Tellegen Absorption Scale (TAS) (Tellegen & Atkinson. 1974), the Di.ssociati"e Experiences Scale (DES) (Bernslein & Pum.am, 1986). and the total dissociation score of the StruClured Clinical IlHen;ew for tJS.\f·fV Di.ssociati\'C Disorders (SCII).O) (Steinberg, 1993), NCDI scores were significantly higher in college students diagnosed \\ith di..s.s<:>ciative disorders lhan in those with anxiety disorders or W11.11 no psychiatric disorder. Addilionally, Mann (1995) found significantly higher NCOI scores in young male inmales (mean age 17.9, SJ): 0.8) diagnosed with post-trdumaticslrt..'SS disorder (PTSD) lhan inmates without a PTSD diagnosis" The Phillips Dissociation Scale (Phillips, 1994) contains 20 ilems (see Table I), all of which may also be found in lhe Mf-WI and 1'oIMPI-A. The items assess the following dimcnsions of dissociation: identity alteration, cOIl\'ersion S)'mploms, amnesia, passi\'c influence phenomena, hearing "oiccs, absorplion in fantasy and trance phenomena, derealization, depersonalization, and the sense tl13tone is possessed. The scale ....'as validaled on a population of private practice patients diagnosed with either dissociative disorders (dissociative identity disorder or dissociative disorder not othern;se specified) or other pS)'chiatric (non-dissociati"e) disorders, The participants were predominantly female, in their midto upper-lhirties. and from middle to upper socioeconomic levels. IJDS score! of palients \\;th dissociative disorders were significantly higher than those of patients \\ith other pS)'chiatric disorders, Dissoc.iati'"e phenomena ilwoh'e disturbances in a.....areness, identity, cognition. and memory (Carlson & Pumam, 1993) and span a continuum from nonnal dissociative experiences to those thal are pathological, The DES was dC\'CIoped as a screen for a range of dissociative experiences_ Subscales assess lC\"els ofamnesia, absorption, derealization/ depersonalization. and 5C\'Cre pathology (Carlson el aI., 1991;