Dissociative Experiences in Adolescents
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The Impact of Traumatic Experiences on Dissociative Symptoms in Adolescents
IRAS ID
304687
Contact name
Meghan Nicholson
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 5 months, 1 days
Research summary
Research summary:
This study aims to investigate the role of specific details of traumatic events in the subsequent development of post-traumatic dissociation. Dissociation has been associated with a wide range of mental health needs, and is considered to be a post-traumatic symptom. Despite adolescents presenting to services with dissociative symptoms, these are often missed or misdiagnosed. This study aims to further our understanding of dissociative symptoms in this age group by exploring the utility of a model proposed by Schauer & Elbert, the 'Defence Cascade Model', which proposes that dissociation is an adaptive, evolutionary reaction, in response to certain types of traumatic events (i.e. those including contamination, penetration, entrapment and direct contact). This study will explore predictions made by this model and its applicability to an adolescent age group. This may further our understanding of the nature of dissociation in response to traumatic events and have potential applicability to clinical interventions for adolescents in the future.
Reference:
Schauer, M., & Elbert, T. (2015). Dissociation following traumatic stress. Journal of Psychology.
Summary of results:
The researcher looked at the differences between two groups of adolescents with different types of traumas in terms of their levels of dissociation. These were also compared to a group of adolescents with no trauma. As expected, the two Trauma Groups scored more highly on measures of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared to the control group. However, there were no differences in levels of dissociation between the two trauma groups. Once we controlled for PTSD, there was also no effect of appraisals (thoughts/ideas/beliefs) on dissociation. However, the thought of feeling dirty or contaminated stood out as relating more to dissociation than the other appraisals. We found that increased dissociation was associated with younger age of onset of the trauma, and greater amount of time since the trauma. Findings are not in line with the assertion by the Defence Cascade Model that features of the trauma are related to dissociation, as there was no difference in dissociation levels between participants who had traumas with fixation, proximity, penetration, and contamination, and those whose traumas did not include these features. This suggests that the features of the trauma event are not predictive of whether someone will go on to develop dissociation. However, it supports other research which found that people who experience trauma at a younger age may be more prone to developing dissociation.
This study is limited in that it did not achieve the ideal sample size for statistical power. Also, the groups were created by a novel checklist which was made for the purposes of this study and is therefore not validated. The study also relies on people being able to accurately recall what they were thinking and feeling during the traumatic event, which may be biased or may have changed over time. Nevertheless, this study is the first to explore the specifics of the Defence Cascade Model in terms of its applicability to the adolescent population. The study finds no evidence that this model may be a useful model to apply to adolescents with trauma. However, future research may be able to use better measurements to further explore the model.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Leeds East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
22/YH/0252
Date of REC Opinion
15 Dec 2022
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion