Dissociation is often considered a psychological defense mechanism for victims of traumatising events, and the scale is of particular use in measuring dissociation among people with PTSD, dissociative disorders, borderline personality disorder and those with a history of abuse.
More broadly, dissociative symptoms can be considered as a transdiagnostic indicator of dysfunctional coping, with many disorders being associated with higher than average dissociation. The scale can be used during the course of treatment to track progress over time.
The DES-II (Carlson & Putna, 1993) is a 28-item, self-report measure of dissociative experiences. Total scores can be between 0 and 100, where high levels of dissociation are indicated by scores of 30 or more.
Scores are presented for three sub-types of dissociation:
The scale shows predictive validity concerning dissociative disorders, traumatic stress disorder, and history of abuse (IJzendoorn & Schuengel, 1996). Lysesenko and colleagues (2018) found that the DES was a useful tool across many disorders.
Average scores for clinical and non-clinical samples (incl. standard deviations) as reported by IJzendoorn & Schuengel (1996) are provided for additional interpretive context.
We acknowledge and pay respects to the people of the Yugambeh language region of the Gold Coast and all their descendants both past and present. We also acknowledge the many Aboriginal people from other regions as well as Torres Strait and South Sea Islander people who now live in the local area and have made important contributions to the community.