COMORBIDITY OF DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS AMONG PATIENTS WITH SUBSTANCE USE DISORDERS

Objectives: The study replicated methods used in an earlier study to d etermine the prevalence of dissociative disorders among patients with substance use disorders and to examine demographic characteristics and history of childhood abuse among patients with and without dissociati ve comorbidity. Methods: A total of 100 inpatients who were completing a substance abuse treatment program at a VA medical center were inter viewed using the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule, which diag noses dissociative disorders. Two additional screening measures of dis sociative symptoms were used as well as an instrument to measure IQ. R esults: Fifteen percent of the sample were diagnosed as having a disso ciative disorder. Compared with patients without a dissociative disord er, the patients with a dissociative disorder had significantly higher median scores on the two screening measures, indicating more dissocia tive experiences and the presence of five distinct symptom clusters. T he two groups did not differ in history of childhood abuse or IQ. Conc lusions: The results support earlier findings suggesting that patients with substance abuse disorder should be routinely screened for dissoc iative symptoms and disorders.