Background: To investigate the relationship between dissociative experiences, psychopathological distress, a history of trauma and posttraumatic symptoms in adult schizophrenia.
Methods: Eighty-seven schizophrenic inpatients returned self-questionnaires [Dissociative Experience Scale (DES); Symptom Checklist (SCL-90-R); PTSD Symptom Scale (PDS)]. Based upon this self-rating, 14 of the participants fulfilled the cut-off definition of PTSD according to DSM-IV criteria, 43 had a history of trauma without a self-rated diagnosis of PTSD. DES scores were also compared to a convenience sample of 297 non-clinical controls.
Results: We found no significant impact of trauma alone but a significant influence of posttraumatic symptomatology on the level of current psychopathological distress (GSI) and the DES subscale absorption. However, in logistic regression, posttraumatic symptomatology was associated with GSI but not with DES. Schizophrenic patients even without trauma or posttraumatic symptoms had significantly higher scores in all three DES subscales than non-clinical controls.
Conclusion: Pronounced posttraumatic symptoms in schizophrenia are associated with severe additional psychopathological distress whereas the increase in dissociation (absorption) in this group of patients may be secondary to the increase in symptom load. However, schizophrenia itself seems to be associated independently from trauma and pathological posttraumatic conditions with a broad range of dissociative symptoms.
2006 S. Karger AG, Basel