Dissociative Disorders in Japan: a Pilot Study with the Dissociative Experience Scale and a Semi-structured Interview

AJapanese version of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (]DES) was developed and administered to 199 late adolescents, 40 normal adults, 16 schizophrenics, and 19 subjects with dissociative disorders whose diagnoses were made with a comprehensive assessment including a semi-structured interview. As a result, theJDES yielded comparable reliability and validity with those established for the Dissociative Experience Scale in North America. Of 19 with dissociative disorders, one was identified as multiple personality disorder (MPD fDSM-W name change: dissociative identity disorder]) and eight were identified as dissociative disorder not otherwise specified (DDNOS). A large percentage of those with DDNOS had partial symptomatic profiles of MPD except for identity disturbance. The distribution of J-DES scores suggested that the concept of a dissociative continuum is cross-culturally applicable, although the presentation of dissociative disorders may be influenced by the Japanese cultural background.