The Dissociative Subtype of PTSD Scale: Initial Evaluation in a National Sample of Trauma-Exposed Veterans

Abstract

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual includes a dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder, but no existing measures specifically assess it. This article describes the initial evaluation of a 15-item self-report measure of the subtype called the Dissociative Subtype of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Scale (DSPS) in an online survey of 697 trauma-exposed military veterans representative of the U.S. veteran population. Exploratory factor analyses of the lifetime DSPS items supported the intended structure of the measure consisting of three factors reflecting derealization/depersonalization, loss of awareness, and psychogenic amnesia. Consistent with prior research, latent profile analyses assigned 8.3% of the sample to a highly dissociative class distinguished by pronounced symptoms of derealization and depersonalization. Overall, results provide initial psychometric support for the lifetime DSPS scales; additional research in clinical and community samples is needed to further validate the measure.