The DOI matches its Crossref record; 493 of the 499 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Dissociation, trauma, and the role of lived experience: Toward a new conceptualization of voice hearing.
Abstract
Voice hearing (VH) is often regarded as pathognomic for schizophrenia. The purpose of this article is to review and integrate historical, clinical, epidemiological, and phenomenological evidence in order to suggest that VH may be more appropriately understood as a dissociative rather than a psychotic phenomenon. First, we discuss the lifetime prevalence of VH in the general population, which is estimated to range between 1% and 16% for adult nonclinical populations and 2% and 41% in healthy adolescent samples. Second, we demonstrate how the ubiquity of VH phenomenology, including variables like voice location, content, and frequency, limits its diagnostic and prognostic utility for differentiating psychotic from trauma-spectrum and nonclinical populations. Finally, we report on the empirical associations between VH, measures of dissociation, and trauma particularly (though not exclusively) childhood sexual abuse. There are 2 main conclusions from this review. First, we argue that available evidence suggests that VH experiences, including those in the context of psychotic disorders, can be most appropriately understood as dissociated or disowned components of the self (or self-other relationships) that result from trauma, loss, or other interpersonal stressors. Second, we provide a rationale for clinicians to use psychotherapeutic methods for integrating life events as precipitating and/or maintaining factors for distressing voices. Potential mechanisms for the relationship between trauma, dissociation, VH, and clinical diagnosis are described, including the relevance of literature from the field of attachment in providing a diathesis for dissociation. Suggestions for future research are also discussed.
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In the citing paper
“a recent review suggested that voice hearing in individuals with trauma-related disorders does not differ significantly from that observed in individuals with schizophrenia (Longden et al., 2012).”
From A review of the relation between dissociation, memory, executive functioning and social cognition in military members and civilians with neuropsychiatric conditions (2016) · cites this paper as Longden et al., 2012
In the citing paper
“Dissociation has long been considered a psychological defence mechanism to protect the individual against intolerable events such as trauma (see [14]).”
From A brief CBT intervention for depersonalisation/derealisation in psychosis: Study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial (2016) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“Given that intrusive thoughts (Morrison and Baker, 2000; Jones and Fernyhough, 2006), intrusions from memory (Brébion et al., 2010; Waters et al., 2012), and dissociation (Longden et al., 2012; Varese et al., 2012; Pilton et al., 2015) have all been linked to AVH”
From Is Shame Hallucinogenic? (2017) · cites this paper as Longden et al., 2012
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Metadata
- Authors
- Longden, E., Madill, A., & Waterman, M. G.
- Affiliations
- University of Leeds (GB)
- Venue
- Psychological Bulletin
- Published
- 2012
- Volume
- 138
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 28-76
- ISSN
- 0033-2909 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1455
- OpenAlex
- W1968959263
- Cited by
- 248
- References
- 499
- Citations by year
- 2026: 15 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 12 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 16 · 2020: 26 · 2019: 12 · 2018: 32 · 2017: 23 · 2016: 26 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 6.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Hallucinations in medical conditions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
- Keywords
- voice hearing, dissociation, trauma, child sexual abuse, schizophrenia, psychosis, dissociative disorders, voice frequency, attachment, self-other relations, diathesis
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Child, Child Abuse, Child, Preschool, Concept Formation, Dissociative Disorders, Hallucinations, Humans, Internal-External Control, Life Change Events, Psychiatry, Psychological Theory, Psychotherapy, Psychotic Disorders, Schizophrenic Psychology, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Voice, Prevalence
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