Dissociation and traumatic memory in adolescents with physical disabilities

Abstract

Dissociation occurs during or after an event that has caused trauma. Generally, dissociation takes place when an individual reacts during or after a traumatic event in self-protection to avoid psychological harm. This may be presented as a distortion of thoughts in terms of space, time, consciousness or even personality. This study sought to understand whether the memory of trauma influenced dissociation. A dissociation events scale was used to explore the levels of dissociation within factors such as derealisation, amnesia and absorption. A correlation design was used to find out the relationship between memory with dissociation. The results indicated that there was a positive relationship between the memory of trauma and dissociation. Pearson’s correlation was used to find the relationship between the impact of the memory of trauma and dissociation. The findings were inverse. The impact of trauma increased when dissociation decreased.