Overview

The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is a psychometric tool used to assess the frequency and intensity of dissociative experiences in individuals. Dissociation refers to a psychological condition in which thoughts, feelings, memories, and sense of identity become disconnected. The DES helps to understand the range of these experiences, which can vary from mild and everyday dissociative phenomena to severe and clinically significant conditions.

Description

The DES consists of 28 questions that cover a variety of dissociative experiences. These include amnesia, which refers to temporary memory loss for events or information; depersonalization, the sense of disconnection from one’s body or thoughts; derealization, the perception that the surrounding world is unreal or strange; and disconnection from consciousness, which involves difficulty in remembering one’s experiences or daily life. Each question is rated on a scale from 0% to 100%, indicating how frequently the person experiences each specific dissociative event.

Analysis

Analysis of the DES involves calculating an overall score, which is the average percentage reported by the individual across all 28 questions. This overall score ranges from 0 to 100. In some cases, the DES can be broken down into subscales to evaluate specific types of dissociative experiences such as amnesia or depersonalization.

Purpose

The main purposes of the DES are to assess the frequency and intensity of dissociative experiences, support the diagnostic process for dissociative disorders, and provide data that can inform and guide personalized therapeutic interventions based on an individual’s specific needs.

Scoring

Scoring the DES includes interpreting the total score, where higher scores suggest a greater presence of dissociative experiences and may indicate the need for further evaluation. The scale’s reliability and validity have been established through research, and results are often interpreted in comparison with established norms and cutoff values.

References

Bernstein, E. M., & Putnam, F. W. (1986). Development, reliability, and validity of a dissociation scale. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 174(12), 727–735.
Carlson, E. B., & Putnam, F. W. (1993). An update on the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders, 6(1), 16–27.
Ross, C. A., Heber, S., Norton, G. R., & Anderson, G. (1989). The Dissociative Experiences Scale: A replication study. Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders, 2(3), 144–146.