Multiple Personalities - Only in America?

[Belz...]

and G.Fraser wrote the only affidavit for C.Ross' defence, he wrote that I was only suing Ross because of "unrequited love".

Ugh. That's a thing that worries me about shrinks. The authority they have to determine what's in your head can be abused severely.

 

[Dancing David]

Here's a few more sources showing DID to be a valid diagnosis:

Wilbur, C. B. (1984) . Treatment of multiple personality. Psychiatric Annals,14, 27-31.

Schreiber in 1973 postulated that a hysterical environment will cause a person to be a “hysteric.” The “hysteric” then becomes a person with multiple personalities to escape an oppressive environment. A missing piece is why one person does this and another in the same environment may not. He cites the case of 24-year-old patient with four separate alters that were given a psychological word association test. Each of the four alters answered like they were four separate people with no leakage of a single word association. A 27-year-old patient with four alters was given a battery of neurological and psychological tests. All four selves reacted completely independently from the others. Even their EEG’s were not alike. Thirteen army psychologists could not spot the type of illness this 27-year-old patient had. It is possible that many people who suffer from amnesia may also suffer from DID. (Schreiber, 1973)

Where Schreiber 1973, are you quoting a source that quotes Schreiber? What was the original source? So you are quoting one paragraph from a four page article?

Childhood Antecedents of Multiple Personality By Richard P. Kluft, American Psychiatric Association Meeting Published by American Psychiatric Pub, 1985 ISBN 0880480823, 9780880480826

Patients suffering from DID have a long history of being misdiagnosed as suffering from schizophrenia. This began in the early 1920's. The re-establishment of the diagnosis began when researchers in the 1970's and 1980's began correctly diagnosing patients.

Why are you quoting unreplicated studies from the 70s and 80s, I hope you know about psychology since then.

 

[Roma]

how can untrained lay people like Pamela Freyd and her staff “document” a real or “unreal” case of “FMS,” as appears to be the case with most of their communications, which usually occur over the telephone or by letter (p. 76)."

I've belonged to the False Memory Syndrome Foundation since 1993 and have been a contact person for them for almost as long so that would make me one of the people that get phone calls from parents who say they have been falsely accused of sexual molestation.
I am not going to respnd to your post in any formal position from the FMSF, I am only going to speak for myself here.

Over the many years that I have recieved calls from those parents I wait to hear what I call "red flags" for FMS. Such as:

* the names of certain notorious therapists who are known to have been successfully sued for malpractice.

* the types of therapy used that has been discredited and can cause FMS, like sodium pentathol and hypnosis to "recovery" sexual abuse memories.

* the number of people the accuser says sexually molested or raped her/him. Usually after the accuser shows up at the police station to add yet another tenth or twentieth perpertrator to the list the file is closed and FMS is assumed.

* the type of sexual molestation or rape that the parent is accused of, such as satanic ritual abuse, government involvement, canabalism, are likely FMS.

* family geography that shows the accuser and accused could not have been together in the same place or even country at the time of the perported sexual molestation. Descriptions of places, homes and rooms that did not exist also make FMS likely.

Now those red flags haven't changed much since 1993.
I have also attended and taken notes at court trials where the accuser's medical records have been read out and I would say that when a woman testifies that her father raped her a dozen times but her doctor says that she is still a virgin that is likely FMS.

Unless you think it is isn't.
I'm not married to the term FMS,
did you want to name it something else, I'm open to suggestions.

 

[MikeSun5]

A lot of good posts and ideas in this thread. DID is a pretty solid diagnosis at this point. It has been in the DSM for over 20 years...

Thanks for all the references, but most of those sources looked pretty recent (and North American). The only one that mentioned the "North American phenomena" issue wasn't even about MPD. It was about dissociative disorders in other countries, which was never disputed. Furthermore, I looked at the book and in the only two non-Western countries cited (China and Iran), only college age students were interviewed.

That doesn't really refute the claim that MPD is a recent, North American development. This thread was born out of statements like this:

SYBIL was the first major book/movie to tie "MPD" to child abuse.
Before SYBIL was published, there were fewer than 50 reported cases of
MPD worldwide. By 1994, over 40,000 cases had been reported.

Multiple Personality Disorders seem to me like a cry for attention, and an easy way to get it. People who think they have MPD are most definitely in need of help, but more than one person living in the same mind? I don't buy it. Totally reeks of Munchausen syndrome.

 

[thinkingman]

In regard to Sybil, a critique of "The Bifurcation of the Self: The History and Theory of
Dissociation and Its Disorder" is at

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4087/is_200801/ai_n21279759

"But the biggest short-coming in Rieber's attempt to discredit Schreiber and Wilbur is in what he leaves out of his discussion. In a couple of brief paragraphs, he cites Herbert Spiegel as his primary authority for challenging the diagnosis of MPD/DID, implying that Spiegel diagnosed Sybil as a hysteric and that he found no evidence of Sybil having been sexually abused by her mother or father. I wanted to know so much more of what Spiegel, Rieber's long-time colleague, thought of the case: How did he account for the lost time and other dissociative phenomena? What was his understanding of how the alters came to manifest themselves during the sessions with Wilbur? To have a detailed discussion of this case by an expert such as Herbert Spiegel would have added so much to our understanding of the MPD/DID phenomenon. Instead, I was left with more questions than answers."


In reply to the statement that MPD is a "cry for attention" is totally unbacked by any scientific evidence. The preponderance of scientific evidence, including its inclusion in the DSM, shows it to be a strong phenomenon.

DID has been found to meet all of the guidelines for inclusion in the DSM and is supported by taxometric research and research has established DID as a valid diagnosis. (Gleaves, D.H.; May MC, Cardeña E (2001) An examination of the diagnostic validity of dissociative identity disorder. Clinical Psychology Review 21(4) 577-608) http://leadershipcouncil.org/docs/gleaves2001.pdf


Coons PM, Bowman ES, Milstein V. Multiple personality disorder. A clinical investigation of 50 cases. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1988 Sep;176(9):519-27. "50 consecutive patients with DSM-III multiple personality disorder were assessed using clinical history, psychiatric interview, neurological examination, electroencephalogram, MMPI, intelligence testing, and a variety of psychiatric rating scales. Results revealed that patients with multiple personality are usually women who present with depression, suicide attempts, repeated amnesic episodes, and a history of childhood trauma, particularly sexual abuse....These data suggest that the etiology of multiple personality is strongly related to childhood trauma rather than to an underlying electrophysiological dysfunction." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3418321


In reply to phone calls made to the FMSF by accused parents and DID, there is no real evidence that the accused parents are telling the truth.

The DSM states that the reports of patients suffering from DID are "often confirmed by objective evidence," and the DSM notes that the abusers in those situations may be inclined to "deny or distort” these acts.

 

[MikeSun5]

In reply to the statement that MPD is a "cry for attention" is totally unbacked by any scientific evidence. The preponderance of scientific evidence, including its inclusion in the DSM, shows it to be a strong phenomenon.

That's what I'm saying... "the prepoderance of scientific evidence" was accumilated in N. America. The phenomenon may very well be strong, but it's also a phenomenon that seems limited to North America and countries with heavy western influence. The sources you cited were all made after 1982 - a long time after MPD began being popularized in stories.

As far as my idea that MPD is a cry for attention, I'm not sure you got my point. A positive diagnosis gets attention for both the patient and the therapist. On the other hand, other dissociative disorders and suppressed memories are totally different. They don't get much screen time when compared to MPD. Here's a quote from an article on MPD vs. DID:

Nevertheless, many professionals still feel that Multiple Personality Disorder should not be a diagnostic entity (Cormier & Thelen, 1998) even though some feel that there have been numerous, nationwide, consistent clinical reports done supporting it (Gleaves, Hernandez, & Warner, 2003). Since the first argument of skepticism has been ruled out, an analysis of the construction of MPD must be made. In Spanos' 1994 exploration on the subject he concluded that MPD is socially constructed where the characteristics of the disorder change over time to meet the changing expectations. The support for this argument is the changes between cultures, from above, and the changes over time. Since the 19th century the number of identities has gone from 2 or 3 to greater than 20, sometimes reaching 100. Also today animal alters are acceptable for an identity. The last big one is that when MPD was first recognized convulsions was one of the major symptoms but now it is not. The conclusion of Spanos' argument is that the expectations of people with the identities and the reaction of the audience are different across time and cultures.

So MPD is a disorder whose description and symptoms change with the times and is seemingly influenced by entertainment media... I mean animal personalities?? How does that not sound fabricated?

 

[Dancing David]

In regard to Sybil, a critique of "The Bifurcation of the Self: The History and Theory of
Dissociation and Its Disorder" is at

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4087/is_200801/ai_n21279759

"But the biggest short-coming in Rieber's attempt to discredit Schreiber and Wilbur is in what he leaves out of his discussion. In a couple of brief paragraphs, he cites Herbert Spiegel as his primary authority for challenging the diagnosis of MPD/DID, implying that Spiegel diagnosed Sybil as a hysteric and that he found no evidence of Sybil having been sexually abused by her mother or father. I wanted to know so much more of what Spiegel, Rieber's long-time colleague, thought of the case: How did he account for the lost time and other dissociative phenomena? What was his understanding of how the alters came to manifest themselves during the sessions with Wilbur? To have a detailed discussion of this case by an expert such as Herbert Spiegel would have added so much to our understanding of the MPD/DID phenomenon. Instead, I was left with more questions than answers."


In reply to the statement that MPD is a "cry for attention" is totally unbacked by any scientific evidence. The preponderance of scientific evidence, including its inclusion in the DSM, shows it to be a strong phenomenon.

DID has been found to meet all of the guidelines for inclusion in the DSM and is supported by taxometric research and research has established DID as a valid diagnosis. (Gleaves, D.H.; May MC, Cardeña E (2001) An examination of the diagnostic validity of dissociative identity disorder. Clinical Psychology Review 21(4) 577-608) http://leadershipcouncil.org/docs/gleaves2001.pdf


Coons PM, Bowman ES, Milstein V. Multiple personality disorder. A clinical investigation of 50 cases. J Nerv Ment Dis. 1988 Sep;176(9):519-27. "50 consecutive patients with DSM-III multiple personality disorder were assessed using clinical history, psychiatric interview, neurological examination, electroencephalogram, MMPI, intelligence testing, and a variety of psychiatric rating scales. Results revealed that patients with multiple personality are usually women who present with depression, suicide attempts, repeated amnesic episodes, and a history of childhood trauma, particularly sexual abuse....These data suggest that the etiology of multiple personality is strongly related to childhood trauma rather than to an underlying electrophysiological dysfunction." http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3418321


In reply to phone calls made to the FMSF by accused parents and DID, there is no real evidence that the accused parents are telling the truth.

The DSM states that the reports of patients suffering from DID are "often confirmed by objective evidence," and the DSM notes that the abusers in those situations may be inclined to "deny or distort” these acts.

Wow, any research after 88 that involves any decent samples?

1988 almost the end of the dark ages of psychology! Why is it that people keep citing unreplicated and out of data studies. i bet that thing is full of holes, no control group for one.

I will critique it later.

 

[Roma]

Thinkingman, since you used Coons as a reference
you can read his thoughts here, but please read the whole site when you have time:


"The defenders of the MPD/DID standard model of genesis, diagnosis, and treatment argue that the disease is underdiagnosed because its complexity makes it very difficult to identify. Dr. Philip M. Coons, who is in the Department of Psychiatry at the Indiana University School of Medicine, claims that "there is a professional reluctance to diagnose multiple personality disorder." He thinks this "stems from a number of factors including the generally subtle presentation of the symptoms, the fearful reluctance of the patient to divulge important clinical information, professional ignorance concerning dissociative disorders, and the reluctance of the clinician to believe that incest actually occurs and is not the product of fantasy." Dr. Coons also claims that demonic possession was "a forerunner of multiple personality."

Another defender of the standard model of MPD, Dr. Ralph Allison, has posted his diagnosis of Kenneth Bianchi, the so-called Hillside Strangler, in which the therapist admits he has changed his mind several times. Bianchi, now a convicted serial killer serving a life sentence, was diagnosed as having MPD by defense psychiatrist Jack G. Watkins. Dr. Watkins used hypnosis on Bianchi and "Steve" emerged to an explicit suggestion from the therapist. "Steve" was allegedly Bianchi's alter who did the murders. Prosecution psychiatrist Martin T. Orne, an expert on hypnosis, argued successfully before the court that the hypnosis and the MPD symptoms were a sham.

Allison claims, but offers no evidence, that the controversy over MPD is one between therapists, who defend the standard model, and teachers, who deny MPD exists.* The battle took place in committee when preparing the DSM-IV, he claims. The teachers won and MPD was removed and DID replaced it. The DSM-IV is the current version (1994) of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It lists 410 mental disorders, up from145 in DSM-II (1968). The first edition in 1952 listed 60 disorders. Some claim that this proliferation of disorders indicates an attempt of therapists to expand their market; others see the rise in disorders as evidence of better diagnostic tools. According to Allison, MPD was called "Hysterical Dissociative Disorder" in DSM-II and did not have its own code number. MPD was listed and coded in DSM-III, but removed in DSM-IV and replaced with DID."

http://skepdic.com/mpd.html

 

[thinkingman]

In reply to some of the above, skepdic.com is only one person's very one-sided and non peer reviewed opinion.

skepdic.com sites McHugh and Spanos. Both have been critiqued and rebutted.

Brown, D; Frischholz E, Scheflin A. (1999). “Iatrogenic dissociative identity disorder ‑ an evaluation of the scientific evidence“. The Journal of Psychiatry and Law XXVII No. 3‑4 (Fall‑Winter 1999): 549–637. p. 604 – 605

“The problem with McHugh’s publications on MPD/DID, like those of Mersky, is that they are mere speculation. From deposition testimony in several cases, McHugh has made it clear that other than an occasional consultation, he has very little actual clinical experience with the ongoing treatment of MPD/DID patients and is generally unfamiliar with both the clinical features of MPD/DID and with what usually occurs in their treatment. Thus McHugh’s opinion is informed neither by actual in-depth clinical experience with contemporary MPD/DID patients nor by any scientific research on MPD. Furthermore, with regard to McHugh’s main hypothesis that hysterical behavior is implicated in DID iatrogenesis, Gleaves has shown that such phenomena are no more prevalent in DID than in any other psychiatric condition.”

“Conclusions…At present the scientific evidence is insufficient and inadequate to support plaintiffs’ complaints that suggestive influences allegedly operative in psychotherapy can create a major psychiatric disorder like MPD per se…there is virtually no support for the unique contribution of hypnosis to the alleged iatrogenic creation of MPD in appropriately controlled research.” “The Spanos socio‑cognitive model reduces MPD to socially constructed role enactments. In this model, the often severe psychopathology associated with clinical MPD is minimized. Very recent studies suggest a possible neurobiological basis to MPD in at least certain MPD patients….It is clear that Spanos et al.’s 1985 conclusion that MPD is a role enactment based on their observation of role‑playing subjects is based on circular logic: You ask a subject to pretend that he has alters and he complies; then you conclude that having alters is the product of role playing….

Spanos’s conclusion of the iatrogenic nature of MPD also suffers from an additional logical error. Even if it were true that MPD could be created iatrogenically, that does not prove that every case for noniatrogenic MPD cases….Situationally bound enactment of predefined secondary‑personality roles presumes sufficient executive control to do it. Genuine MPD is defined in DSM as the loss of executive control…Genuine DID was defined in DSM‑IV as the loss of a unified identity…Presumably none of Spanos’s laboratory subjects suffered from a fundamental loss of a unified identity as a result of the experimental instructions….”’Genuine MPD is characterized by enduring alter‑personality states that are defined by a relatively stable set of personality characteristics over time….The secondary‑personality states reported by Spanos’s subjects in the laboratory were very temporary role enactments….

Spanos has seriously overgeneralized from the data of his 1985, 1986 and 1991 laboratory experiments that multiple personalities can be created in the laboratory.”’ The more conservative interpretation merited by these data is that certain individuals with certain personality characteristics in a particular social context report temporary role enactments of different identities that are limited to the context of the experiment….Overall the Spanos data offer no evidence that either stable alter personalities or the range of clinical features typically associated with MPD can be created in the laboratory, and the data certainly offer no support whatsoever that MPD per se can be created through suggestive influences. At best, these data support the view that certain individuals in a high‑demand context, and/or under extreme interview conditions wherein misinformation is systematically supplied, report temporary secondary‑personality states….Overall, these data offer little evidence that the disorder MPD per se can be created through suggestive influences.”

MPD may have been changed to DID due to the fact that it does not have the Axis II personality disorder's characteristics of being possibly lifelong, inflexible and pervasive, but with adequate trauma treatment, sufferers may show major improvements over time. This makes it more like an Axis I disorder, like PTSD.

 

[Roma]

In reply to some of the above, skepdic.com is only one person's very one-sided and non peer reviewed opinion.


Brown, D; Frischholz E, Scheflin A. (1999). “Iatrogenic dissociative identity disorder ‑ an evaluation of the scientific evidence“. The Journal of Psychiatry and Law XXVII No. 3‑4 (Fall‑Winter 1999): 549–637. p. 604 – 605

“The problem with McHugh’s publications on MPD/DID, like those of Mersky, is that they are mere speculation. From deposition testimony in several cases, McHugh has made it clear that other than an occasional consultation, he has very little actual clinical experience with the ongoing treatment of MPD/DID patients and is generally unfamiliar with both the clinical features of MPD/DID and with what usually occurs in their treatment. Thus McHugh’s opinion is informed neither by actual in-depth clinical experience with contemporary MPD/DID patients nor by any scientific research on MPD. Furthermore, with regard to McHugh’s main hypothesis that hysterical behavior is implicated in DID iatrogenesis, Gleaves has shown that such phenomena are no more prevalent in DID than in any other psychiatric condition.”

Thinkingman what were you thinking when you took those words right out of the S.M.A.R.T. web site, a web site that is so clearly crazy that I included a review written in the Aug.20th 2009 Boston Skepticism Examiner of the latest S.M.A.R.T conference to demonstrate craziness:


REPORT FROM THE S.M.A.R.T. RITUAL ABUSE/MIND-CONTROL CONFERENCE 2009
PART 2

Douglas Mesner
August 31, 2009

(www.process.org/discept/2009/08/31)

On the weekend of August 15-16, Douglas Mesner attended a conference
for alleged victims of Satanic Ritual Abuse and Mind-Control in
Windsor Locks, Connecticut. This is the second part of his 2-part
report:


........"The conference is so self-evidently full of ******** that exposing it
may seem no more productive than pulling the false beard from a
shopping mall Santa Claus. But, absurd as the premise of the
S.M.A.R.T. conference is, and deranged as the speaker's tales clearly
are, there are practicing, licensed therapists who, to this day, will
defend the legitimacy of the "recovered memories" that have revealed
the machinations of the Satanic Conspiracy discussed here. These
therapists will be the first to cry out that Multiple Personality
Disorder, now re-branded as Dissociative Identity Disorder, is
listed in the official Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of the
American Psychiatric Association (APA), thus it must be entirely
legitimate. But as Johns Hopkins University professor of psychiatry,
Dr. Paul Mchugh notes, "Symptoms alone are [the DSM's] diagnostic
criteria," So while symptoms of MPD may be categorically defined in
the DSM, the condition itself "exists in relationship to the
generative powers of the therapist that produced it. It exists just
the same way as the Salem witches existed. It does not exist in
nature.".......


(www.examiner.com/x-20682-Boston-Skepticism-Examiner)

http://ritualabuse.us/research/memory-fms/paul-mchugh/

 

[thinkingman]

The quote I cited from the The Journal of Psychiatry and Law appears to be an accurate one from a peer reviewed journal.

The quote you cite above appears to be a pretty nasty one: "full of ********." Doesn't sound like there is much objectivity or balance there.

Here are some accurate sources discussing DID

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder
You may wonder if dissociative identity disorder is real. After all, understanding the development of multiple personalities is difficult, even for highly trained experts. But dissociative identity disorder does exist. It is the most severe and chronic manifestation of the dissociative disorders that cause multiple personalities.

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec07/ch106/ch106e.html
Dissociative Identity Disorder
In dissociative identity disorder, formerly called multiple personality disorder, two or more identities alternate within the same person.
* Extreme stress during childhood may prevent some children from integrating their experiences into one cohesive identify.
* People have several personalities that may or may not know about and interact with each other, as well as many other symptoms, including severe headaches, memory gaps, and a tendency toward self-harm.
* A thorough psychologic interview and special questionnaires, sometimes facilitated by hypnosis or sedatives, help doctors diagnose the disorder.
* Extensive psychotherapy may help people integrate their personalities or at least help the personalities cooperate.
About 1% of people may have dissociative identity disorder.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/cond...rder-multiple-personality-disorder?tab=Causes
Why some people develop DID is not entirely understood, but they frequently report having experienced severe physical and sexual abuse, especially during childhood. Though the accuracy of such accounts is disputed, they are often confirmed by objective evidence. Individuals with DID may also have post-traumatic symptoms (nightmares, flashbacks, and startle responses) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Several studies suggest that DID is more common among close biological relatives of persons who also have the disorder than in the general population. As this once rarely reported disorder has grown more common, the diagnosis has become controversial. Some believe that because DID patients are highly suggestible, their symptoms are at least partly iatrogenic— that is, prompted by their therapists' probing. Brain imaging studies, however, have corroborated identity transitions.

http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/dissociative_identity_disorder.htm
Cause:When faced with overwhelmingly traumatic situations from which there is no physical escape, a patient may resort to "going away" in his or her head. This ability may be used and is extremely effective defense against acute physical and emotional pain, or anxious anticipation of that pain. By this dissociative process, thoughts, feelings, memories, and perceptions of the traumatic experiences can be separated off psychologically, allowing the patient to function as if the trauma had not occurred.
Often, even after the traumatic circumstances are long past, the left-over pattern of defensive dissociation remains. Chronic defensive dissociation may lead to serious dysfunction in work, social, and daily activities. Repeated dissociation may result in a series of separate entities, or mental states, which may eventually take on identities of their own.

 

[Dancing David]

The quote I cited from the The Journal of Psychiatry and Law appears to be an accurate one from a peer reviewed journal.

The quote you cite above appears to be a pretty nasty one: "full of ********." Doesn't sound like there is much objectivity or balance there.

Here are some accurate sources discussing DID

http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/dissociative-identity-disorder-multiple-personality-disorder
You may wonder if dissociative identity disorder is real. After all, understanding the development of multiple personalities is difficult, even for highly trained experts. But dissociative identity disorder does exist. It is the most severe and chronic manifestation of the dissociative disorders that cause multiple personalities.

Unsubstantiated speculation.

http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec07/ch106/ch106e.html
Dissociative Identity Disorder
In dissociative identity disorder, formerly called multiple personality disorder, two or more identities alternate within the same person.
* Extreme stress during childhood may prevent some children from integrating their experiences into one cohesive identify.

Unsubstantiated speculation.

* People have several personalities that may or may not know about and interact with each other, as well as many other symptoms, including severe headaches, memory gaps, and a tendency toward self-harm.

Unsubstantiated speculation.

* A thorough psychologic interview and special questionnaires, sometimes facilitated by hypnosis or sedatives, help doctors diagnose the disorder.

"sometimes facilitated by hypnosis or sedatives
Woo^2[

* Extensive psychotherapy may help people integrate their personalities or at least help the personalities cooperate.
About 1% of people may have dissociative identity disorder.

http://www.psychologytoday.com/cond...rder-multiple-personality-disorder?tab=Causes
Why some people develop DID is not entirely understood, but they frequently report having experienced severe physical and sexual abuse, especially during childhood. Though the accuracy of such accounts is disputed, they are often confirmed by objective evidence. Individuals with DID may also have post-traumatic symptoms (nightmares, flashbacks, and startle responses) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Several studies suggest that DID is more common among close biological relatives of persons who also have the disorder than in the general population. As this once rarely reported disorder has grown more common, the diagnosis has become controversial. Some believe that because DID patients are highly suggestible, their symptoms are at least partly iatrogenic— that is, prompted by their therapists' probing. Brain imaging studies, however, have corroborated identity transitions.

Funny, where is the research that show that , Psychology Today?
Why aren't you citing the original research?

You are quoting speculation that is undocumented again.

http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/dissociative_identity_disorder.htm
Cause:When faced with overwhelmingly traumatic situations from which there is no physical escape, a patient may resort to "going away" in his or her head.

Unsubstantiated speculation.

This ability may be used and is extremely effective defense against acute physical and emotional pain, or anxious anticipation of that pain. By this dissociative process, thoughts, feelings, memories, and perceptions of the traumatic experiences can be separated off psychologically, allowing the patient to function as if the trauma had not occurred.

Unsubstantiated speculation.

Often, even after the traumatic circumstances are long past, the left-over pattern of defensive dissociation remains. Chronic defensive dissociation may lead to serious dysfunction in work, social, and daily activities. Repeated dissociation may result in a series of separate entities, or mental states, which may eventually take on identities of their own.

So more speculation.

 

[Roma]

The quote I cited from the The Journal of Psychiatry and Law appears to be an accurate one from a peer reviewed journal.

(my bolding)

I am no longer fooled by the term "peer reviewed".
my old lawyer taught me all about looking deeper into just who the "peers" are.

Anyone can get a bunch of their nutty fringe colleges together and form little "societies" where they can review each others work and give each other awards.

I looked up a few sites that were called "Journal of Psychiatry and Law",
you gave no other information about where you say you got that quote,
but the sites I looked at were pretty lame.

Here are a few groups of professionals that I would like to see quoted in your threads instead :


\
| "There is no single set of symptoms which automatically indicates |
| that a person was a victim of childhood abuse. There have been |
| media reports of therapists who state that people (particularly |
| women) with a particular set of problems or symptoms must have |
| been victims of childhood sexual abuse. There is no scientific |
| evidence that supports this conclusion." |
| American Psychological Association Questions and |
| Answers about Memories of Childhood Abuse, 1995 |
| |
| "Psychologists recognize that there is no constellation of |
| symptoms which is diagnostic of child sexual abuse." |
| Canadian Psychological Association, Position Statement on |
| Adult Recovered Memories of Childhood Sexual Abuse, 1996 |
| |
| "Previous sexual abuse in the absence of memories of these events |
| cannot be diagnosed through a checklist of symptoms." |
| Royal College of Psychiatrists, Reported |
| Recovered Memories of Sexual Abuse, 1997 |
\____________________________________________________________________/

 

[thinkingman]

To the poster that states "unsubstantiated speculation" these are mainstream, moderate scientific sites.

from webMD
The WebMD content staff blends award-winning expertise in medicine, journalism, health communication and content creation to bring you the best health information possible. Our esteemed colleagues at MedicineNet.com are frequent contributors to WebMD and comprise our Medical Editorial Board. Our Independent Medical Review Board continuously reviews the site for accuracy and timeliness.

from merck.com
Merck & Co., Inc. is a global research-driven pharmaceutical company dedicated to putting patients first. Established in 1891, Merck discovers, develops, manufactures and markets vaccines and medicines to address unmet medical needs. The Company devotes extensive efforts to increase access to medicines through far-reaching programs that not only donate Merck medicines but help deliver them to the people who need them. Merck also publishes unbiased health information as a not-for-profit service.
(note: DID is a diagnosis with less medicines prescribed than many, like Bi-polar disorder.)

from psychology today:
"Our staff of writers, editors and programmers include individuals who have extensive expertise in the field of psychology, both from a clinical and an academic perspective. Many of our articles are written by, and rely upon information provided by, Doctors and Ph.D.'s who have dedicated their professional lives to the promotion of sound psychology for the benefit of the communities in which they live. Our interactive tools have been designed and built by highly qualified Psychiatrists with unrivalled experience."

from psychnet-uk:
"PsychNet-UK is an independent private web site which was conceived, developed and is run for the benefit of mental health professionals or those interested in mental health practices....From initial launch in June 1998 our link database has increased from 500 to over 9000. The site is constantly evolving and being improved with now over 350 pages, our hit-rate is over 50,000 visits per month and climbing, and with over 1400 major academic institutions / professional sites linking directly to PsychNet-UK."

The mainstream moderate position in the field, also backed by those with experience in the field, clearly states that DID exists and that it is caused by repeated trauma. The minority position states otherwise.

In reply to "Anyone can get a bunch of their nutty fringe colleges together and form little "societies" where they can review each others work and give each other awards."

I assume you mean "colleagues." Peer review is probably the best one can get in terms of fact checking and accuracy in terms of scientific data. IMO, it is much better than statements and articles from advocacy organizations and blogs with no experience in the field that state "full of b******" when they disagree with someone else's position.

Though this is an unrelated topic, of course there is no "set of symptoms which automatically indicate" that a person was a victim of child abuse. However, there are symptoms that may indicate that a person suffers from trauma, like PTSD.

 

[Dancing David]

To the poster that states "unsubstantiated speculation" these are mainstream, moderate scientific sites.

Wow appeal to authority is no excuse for the following

This ability may be used and is extremely effective defense against acute physical and emotional pain, or anxious anticipation of that pain. By this dissociative process, thoughts, feelings, memories, and perceptions of the traumatic experiences can be separated off psychologically, allowing the patient to function as if the trauma had not occurred.

try explaining and defending that statement, show the research that supports it.
\
You quoted it from here;
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/dissociative_identity_disorder.htm

So where on that site is the reasearch to support that wildly speculative and unsubstantiated assertion?

there is no citation for the quote, there is no research to back the quote.

So it is unsubstantiated assertion.

that is no more the cause of DID than demonic possesion.

And I suppose you can show and defend the statement from Psychology Today that

Brain imaging studies, however, have corroborated identity transitions.

or is it just a mish mosh of assertionn? Hmmm? So where is the research that they are citing? I just looked, lacking!

These are the 'sources'

American Psychiatric Association

National Institute of Mental Health

Handbook of Psychology, Vol. 8 (John Wiley)

Funny that, as a paper in high school it would get an 'F' for not citing where these statements are evidenced!

 

[Jeff Corey]

Wow appeal to authority is no excuse for the following

try explaining and defending that statement, show the research that supports it.
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You quoted it from here;
http://www.psychnet-uk.com/dsm_iv/dissociative_identity_disorder.htm...

A halfway credible source would not call them "Dissociative Disorder's".