Dissociative Identity Disorder

Prevalence

• The 12-month prevalence of dissociative identity disorder among adults in a small U.S. community study was 1.5%.

• The prevalence across genders in that study was 1.6% for males and 1.4% for females.

Symptoms

• Disruption of identity characterized by two or more distinct personality states, which may be described in some cultures as an experience of possession.

• The disruption in identity involves marked discontinuity in sense of self and sense of agency, accompanied by related alterations in affect, behavior, consciousness, memory, perception, cognition, and/or sensory-motor functioning.

• Recurrent gaps in the recall of everyday events, important personal information, and/or traumatic events that are inconsistent with ordinary forgetting.

• The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

• The disturbance is not a normal part of a broadly accepted cultural or religious practice.

• In children, the symptoms are not better explained by imaginary playmates or other fantasy play.

• The symptoms are not attributable to the physiological effects of a substance (e.g., blackouts or chaotic behavior during alcohol intoxication) or another medical condition (e.g., complex partial seizures).