Background
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<h3>About the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II)</h3>
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The <strong>Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II)</strong> is one of the most widely used self-report instruments designed to measure dissociative experiences, disruptions in awareness, altered states of consciousness, depersonalization, derealization, identity confusion, and memory disturbances.
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The DES was originally developed by <strong>Eve Bernstein Carlson</strong> and <strong>Frank W. Putnam</strong> during the 1980s as a screening instrument for dissociative experiences in clinical and non-clinical populations.
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The questionnaire evaluates a broad range of dissociative phenomena including absorption, spacing out, memory lapses, altered identity experiences, depersonalization, derealization, and disruptions in conscious awareness.
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Research studies have demonstrated strong reliability and validity for the DES-II across trauma research, dissociation studies, clinical psychology, psychiatry, personality research, and consciousness research.
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<h4>Psychological Domains Measured</h4>
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<strong>Absorption and Imaginative Involvement</strong>
<span>Measures deep mental absorption, fantasy immersion, spacing out, and altered attentional focus.</span>
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<strong>Depersonalization</strong>
<span>Measures feelings of detachment from oneself, observing oneself externally, and altered self-experience.</span>
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<strong>Derealization</strong>
<span>Measures feelings that surroundings, people, or reality seem unreal, distant, foggy, or unfamiliar.</span>
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<strong>Memory Disturbance</strong>
<span>Measures memory gaps, amnesia-like experiences, forgetting actions, and disruptions in autobiographical memory.</span>
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<strong>Identity Confusion</strong>
<span>Measures altered identity experiences, feeling unlike oneself, or experiencing different behavioral states.</span>
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<strong>Dissociative Awareness Disruption</strong>
<span>Measures disruptions in attention, awareness, perception, consciousness, and continuity of experience.</span>
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The DES-II is commonly used in trauma research, dissociation studies, clinical psychology, psychiatry, and consciousness research. The questionnaire is intended as a screening instrument and should not be used as a standalone diagnostic tool.
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