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Depersonalization as a defense mechanism in survivors of trauma
Author(s) -
Shilony Etay,
Grossman Frances K.
Publication year - 1993
Publication title -
journal of traumatic stress
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.259
H-Index - 134
eISSN - 1573-6598
pISSN - 0894-9867
DOI - 10.1002/jts.2490060110
Subject(s) - depersonalization , psychology , dissociative , clinical psychology , dissociative experiences scale , checklist , psychiatry , poison control , dissociation (chemistry) , injury prevention , medicine , cognition , emotional exhaustion , medical emergency , burnout , chemistry , schizotypy , cognitive psychology
The study examines the relationship between experiencing depersonalization during traumatic events and subsequent psychiatric symptomatology. Participants were 75 Boston University undergraduate students who reported 186 traumatic events. Information about their experiences of depersonalization during these events was obtained by the Depersonalization Questionnaire (DQ) a scale based primarily on the Dissociation Experience Scale (Bernstein and Putnam, 1986). Symptomatology was measured by the Symptom Checklist‐90‐Revised (Derogatis, 1977). As predicted the participants who experienced depersonalization during traumatic events were found to be significantly lower than those who did not on 7 out of the 9 SCL‐90‐R subscales and the General Severity Index (GSI) scale. When the severity of trauma was statistically controlled for, the significant differences between the two groups held up on five of the nine subscales and the GSI scale. These differences remained as significant when statistically controlling for the time that passed since the traumatic events. These findings suggest that, for this sample, depersonalization during traumatic events played a significant role in defending them from the full impact of these events.