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The responses of dissociative patients on the thematic apperception test
Author(s) -
Pica Michael,
Beere Donald,
Lovinger Sophie,
Dush David
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.1054
Subject(s) - dissociative , thematic apperception test , psychology , dissociative identity disorder , dissociative disorders , dissociation (chemistry) , clinical psychology , psychotherapist , interpersonal communication , psychiatry , social psychology , chemistry
Abstract This study compared the responses of dissociative inpatients and general inpatient psychiatric controls on the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT; Murray, 1943). We found the stories of dissociative participants to be characterized by a greater interpersonal distance and more trauma and dissociation responses than those of the controls. No significant differences were found regarding total number of emotional references, although references to positive emotions were almost nonexistent for the dissociative group. A post hoc analysis of the data found the testing behaviors of dissociative participants to be characterized by switching, trance states, intrainterview amnesias, and affectively loaded card rejections. Questions were raised regarding the relevancy of the findings to clinical practice and how they might explain some of the controversies surrounding the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder (DID). © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Psychol 57: 847–864, 2001.