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ERIC Number: ED273890
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1986-Jan
Pages: 32
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Indicators of Multiple Personality Disorder for the Clinician.
Dalton, Thomas W.
Multiple personality disorder (MPD) is now recognized as a valid diagnostic category. Occurrence may be higher than previously suspected. While physiological testing of MPD has shown significant differences between the various personalities of individuals in terms of galvanic skin response, electroencephalogram recordings, electrodermal response movements, and visually evoked potential recordings, it offers little as an indicator of MPD, with the Rorschach and the Minnesota Multiphasic Pesonality Inventory (MMPI) having the greatest potential for predicting MPD in clients. Although a distinct MMPI profile representative of MPD does not exist, the Rorschach appears to be more discriminating than the MMPI and may eventualy prove diagnostically useful. Further research in this area is needed. Abuse, incest, and other severe trauma during childhood are consistently listed as etiological factors of MPD. The recent increase in cases of reported child abuse presents the opportunity to identify MPD patients early. This early detection may eliminate years of intensive therapy or trauma. The most practical means of diagnosis is through interviews. Practitioners who interview abuse victims should consider MPD as a possible diagnosis. Helpful checklists exist, most of which cite amnesia, auditory hallucinations, unusual fluctuations, and imaginary playmates as possible indicators of MPD in children. Other indicators of MPD in adults and methods of further inquiry can help the clinician recognize and make decisions regarding treatment of MPD. A three-page reference list is provided. (Author/NB)
Publication Type: Information Analyses
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A