Dissociative Experiences Scale

Questionnaire to screen for dissociative identity disorder

Medical diagnostic method

Dissociative Experiences Scale

Purpose| measures dissociate symptoms

The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) is a psychological self-assessment questionnaire that measures dissociative symptoms.

## Background

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It contains twenty-eight questions and returns an overall score as well as four sub-scale results.[1]

DES is intended to be a screening test, since only 17% of patients with scores over 30 will be diagnosed with having dissociative identity disorder.[2] Patients with lower scores above normal may have other post-traumatic conditions.

The DES-II contains the same questions but with a different response scale.[3]

## See also

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* Multiscale Dissociation Inventory
* Structured Clinical Interview for DSM

## References

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1. ^ Bernstein EM, Putnam FW (1986). "Development, reliability, and validity of a dissociation scale". J. Nerv. Ment. Dis. 174 (12): 727–35\. doi:10.1097/00005053-198612000-00004. PMID 3783140. S2CID 20578794.
2. ^ "Dissociative Experiences Scale". Archived from the original on 2009-03-24. Retrieved 2009-03-26.
3. ^ "The University of Adelaide Library – Psychiatric Rating Scales and Diagnostic Aids". Archived from the original on 2009-02-27. Retrieved 2009-03-26.

## External links

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* A sample adolescent DES test from Southeast Institute, Chapel Hill, NC
* International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation