Open AccessDissociative identity disorder: a look at the role of life history coherence
Author(s) -
Marie-Michelle Pedros
Publication year - 2010
Language(s) - English
DOI - 10.33921/bjrq4545
Subject(s) - dissociative identity disorder , coherence (philosophical gambling strategy) , dissociative , psychology , vulnerability (computing) , identity (music) , psychoanalysis , cognitive psychology , psychotherapist , clinical psychology , computer science , aesthetics , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , computer security
During the last several decades, many theories have tried to explain dissociative identity disorder (DID). Currently, the post-traumatic model (Davison, Blankstein, Flett, & Neale, 2008) is most commonly used by scientists to explain this disorder. The main hypothesis of this model states that a person who has endured multiple severe traumas in his or her childhood is more inclined to develop DID. However, this model does not answer a critical question: how can we explain why, of the many people who experience similar trauma, some develop DID and some do not? The present article suggests an alternate model, an integrative model of DID that combines the coherent life story hypothesis with the post-traumatic model. This new model suggests that because of genetic vulnerability, a person with an incoherent life story due to non-integration of traumatic events would develop DID.