Paper Title
Dissociative Symptoms In Young Adults In Slovenia
Abstract
People with dissociative disorders are at increased risk of complications and associated disorders, such as depression and anxiety disorders, personality disorders, self-harm, suicidal thoughts and behavior, alcoholism and drug use, etc. However, many times dissociative symptoms in young adults stay unrecognized due to the lack of appropriate assessment tools. Therefore, we translated the DIS-Q questionnaire (Vanderlinden et al., 1993) into Slovenian language and investigated the incidence of dissociation in Slovenian young adults. 244 participants (aged 18-30) completed the questionnaire, 44% (107) of them experienced a serious injury, life-threatening and/or other traumatic events. Young adults with self-reported traumas (SRT) gave significantly higher scores than young adults with no self-reported traumas (NSRT) in all four subscales of the DIS-Q: (1) identity confusion; (2) loss of control over behavior, thoughts, and emotions; (3) amnesia; and (4) absorption. The prevalence of dissociative symptoms (cut-off score > 2.5) in SRT group was 43%. The results of this study indicate the need and the importance of appropriate assessment tools for dissociative symptoms.
Keywords - Dissociative Symptoms, Young Adults, Mental Health, DIS-Q, Dissociation In Slovenia