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The relationship between dissociative tendencies and schizotypy: An artifact of childhood trauma?
Author(s) -
Irwin Harvey J.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.1015
Subject(s) - schizotypy , dissociative experiences scale , psychology , dissociative , personality , schizotypal personality disorder , association (psychology) , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , social psychology , psychotherapist
Previous research has suggested a relationship between dissociative tendencies and schizotypy. This study sought to extend the previous work in two fundamental respects. First, explicit cognizance was taken of the multidimensionality of both dissociative tendencies and schizotypy. Second, the study examined the possibility that the observed correlation between dissociative tendencies and schizotypy is an artifact of the association between each of these personality domains and a history of childhood trauma. Australian adults ( N = 116) were administered the Dissociative Experiences Scale, the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire—Brief, and the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that both pathological and nonpathological dissociative tendencies were predicted by the dimensions of schizotypy, even after the contribution of childhood trauma had been removed. It is concluded that the relationship between dissociative tendencies and schizotypy is not an artifact of childhood abuse, but the clinical significance of this relationship remains to be established. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 331–342, 2001.