The DOI matches its Crossref record; 185 of the 186 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Dissociative identity disorder: An empirical overview
Open accessAbstract
Objective: Despite its long and auspicious place in the history of psychiatry, dissociative identity disorder (DID) has been associated with controversy. This paper aims to examine the empirical data related to DID and outline the contextual challenges to its scientific investigation. Methods: The overview is limited to DID-specific research in which one or more of the following conditions are met: (i) a sample of participants with DID was systematically investigated, (ii) psychometrically-sound measures were utilised, (iii) comparisons were made with other samples, (iv) DID was differentiated from other disorders, including other dissociative disorders, (v) extraneous variables were controlled or (vi) DID diagnosis was confirmed. Following an examination of challenges to research, data are organised around the validity and phenomenology of DID, its aetiology and epidemiology, the neurobiological and cognitive correlates of the disorder, and finally its treatment. Results: DID was found to be a complex yet valid disorder across a range of markers. It can be accurately discriminated from other disorders, especially when structured diagnostic interviews assess identity alterations and amnesia. DID is aetiologically associated with a complex combination of developmental and cultural factors, including severe childhood relational trauma. The prevalence of DID appears highest in emergency psychiatric settings and affects approximately 1% of the general population. Psychobiological studies are beginning to identify clear correlates of DID associated with diverse brain areas and cognitive functions. They are also providing an understanding of the potential metacognitive origins of amnesia. Phase-oriented empirically-guided treatments are emerging for DID. Conclusions: The empirical literature on DID is accumulating, although some areas remain under-investigated. Existing data show DID as a complex, valid and not uncommon disorder, associated with developmental and cultural variables, that is amenable to psychotherapeutic intervention.
Overview
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.
Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“With an onset during early childhood, DID occurs in the context of maltreatment perpetrated most often by caregivers [2,9,18], and it is delineated by the subjective experience of identity alteration [1].”
From Treatment of dissociative identity disorder: leveraging neurobiology to optimize success (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe source backs part of the claim, not all of it — or backs it for a different population, condition or comparison.
In the citing paper
“A large body of systematic empirical research has found individuals with DID consistently report severe histories of childhood neglect and abuse [2].”
From Treatment of dissociative identity disorder: leveraging neurobiology to optimize success (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a treatable mental health condition affecting approximately 1% of adults in the general population [1–4].”
From Treatment of dissociative identity disorder: leveraging neurobiology to optimize success (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
Experimental — accuracy not yet measuredThe cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“With an onset during early childhood, DID occurs in the context of maltreatment perpetrated most often by caregivers [2,9,18], and it is delineated by the subjective experience of identity alteration [1].”
From Treatment of dissociative identity disorder: leveraging neurobiology to optimize success (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“Dissociative identity disorder (DID) is a treatable mental health condition that is associated with a range of psychobiological manifestations.”
From Treatment of dissociative identity disorder: leveraging neurobiology to optimize success (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“A wealth of evidence supports the validity of DID as a diagnosis and the significance of childhood trauma and maltreatment in the development of DID [2,18,62].”
From Treatment of dissociative identity disorder: leveraging neurobiology to optimize success (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“In contrast, empirical evidence from neurobiological studies, experimental investigations, and epidemiological surveys strongly supports the validity of DID diagnosis and the importance of maltreatment to its development [2,18,62].”
From Treatment of dissociative identity disorder: leveraging neurobiology to optimize success (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
The cited source says what the claim attributes to it.
In the citing paper
“For example, in addition to experiencing symptoms of co-occurring PTSD, people with DID frequently experience depression, anxiety, disordered eating, problematic substance use, suicidal ideation, and self-injury [2].”
From Treatment of dissociative identity disorder: leveraging neurobiology to optimize success (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
In the citing paper
“Severe early life neurodevelopmental disruptions may also give rise to the experience of multiple fragmented, discontinuous, and disembodied selves, such as those experienced in dissociative identity disorder (DID), a condition highly co-existent with early and severe traumatization ( Reinders et al., 2003 ; Dorahy et al., 2014 ; Schlumpf et al., 2014 ; Reinders and Veltman, 2021 ).”
From The brain-body disconnect: A somatic sensory basis for trauma-related disorders (2022) · cites this paper as Dorahy et al., 2014
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The self-check needs the paper’s full text.
Citations
Cites
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
American Psychiatric Association (2013) · doi:10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596 · Cited by 116,369
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
Williams, J. B. W., & First, M. B. (2013) · Oxford University Press eBooks · doi:10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.104 · Cited by 109,845
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed.
Carter, M. J. (2014) · Therapeutic Recreation Journal · Cited by 15,154
Handbook of Personality: Theory and Research
Krueger, R. F., & Johnson, W. (2008) · Cited by 7,884
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 3rd ed
Cooper, A. M., & Michels, R. (1981) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.138.1.128 · Cited by 7,419
(1992) · Cited by 5,228
Development, reliability, and validity of a dissociation scale
BERNSTEIN, E. M., & PUTNAM, F. W. (1986) · The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease · doi:10.1097/00005053-198612000-00004 · Cited by 3,793 · cited 2×
“The consistent clinical picture across cultures and research laboratories supports the content validity of DID.”
BackgroundInfluentialEstablishment of Diagnostic Validity in Psychiatric Illness: Its Application to Schizophrenia
ROBINS, E., & GUZE, S. B. (1970) · American Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1176/ajp.126.7.983 · Cited by 2,243
Cultures and Selves: A Cycle of Mutual Constitution
Markus, H. R., & Kitayama, S. (2010) · Perspectives on Psychological Science · doi:10.1177/1745691610375557 · Cited by 1,625
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(2018) · Sage eBooks · doi:10.4135/9781506326139.n198 · Cited by 1,244
Research works printed but not linked: 20
- Alvi T, 2011, Journal of Pakistani Psychiatric Society, 8, 18
- Boon S, 1993, Dissociation, 6, 126
- Butcher JN, 2001, Manual for the Administration and Scoring of the MMPI-2
- Cocker KI, 1994, Australian Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 22, 165
- Dorahy MJ, 2001, Culture, Cognition and Psychopathology, 157
- Fink D, 1990, Dissociation, 3, 127
- 10.1176/ajp.2006.163.4.623 · DOI
- Kemp K, 1988, Dissociation, 1, 41
- Kluft RP, 1993, Dissociative Disorders: A Clinical Review, 17
- Lloyd M (2011) How investing in therapeutic services provides a clinical cost saving in the long term. Health Service Journal (online), http://tinyurl.com/74sefbz (accessed 26 February 2014).
- Martínez-Taboas A, 1991, Dissociation: Progress in the Dissociative Disorders, 4, 189
- Morey LC, 1991, Personality Assessment Inventory: Professional Manual
- Rogers R, 2010, Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms-2 (SIRS-2) and Professional Manual
- Ross CA, 1989, Dissociation, 2, 169
- Şar V, 2009, Dissociation and Dissociative Disorders: DSM-V and Beyond, 535
- Steinberg M, 1994, Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Dissociative Disorders – Revised (SCID-D-R)
- Stringer AY, 1994, Neuropsychiatry, Neuropsychology & Behavioral Neurology, 7, 51
- Tutkun H, 1996, Dissociation, 9, 241
- Umesue M, 1996, Dissociation, 9, 182
- World Health Organization, 1993, The ICD-10, Classification of Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–225 of 225
The modular mind and psychiatry: toward clinical integration with a focus on self-disorders
Ilie, G., & Jaeggi, A. V. (2025) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1570049
“…subpersonalities or alters within the same individual, with at least two of them alternating in taking control over the person’s behavior, often accompanied by amnesia for the periods during which an alter is in control (Dorahy et al., 2014; American Psychiatric Association, 2022; Khan, 2023).”
Tanwar, K. C., Gupta, S., Bhatt, S., Ahuja, S., & Puri, A. (2025) · Journal of Psychology & Clinical Psychiatry · doi:10.15406/jpcpy.2025.16.00814
Kausalitätsbegutachtung bei psychischen Störungen
Widder, B. (2025) · Springer Reference Medizin · doi:10.1007/978-3-662-60980-4_122
Parting the Waters? Dissociative Identity Disorder and Baptism
Cawdron, H. (2025) · Journal of Disability & Religion · doi:10.1080/23312521.2025.2512534
Steven, H., Schwartz, Z. A., & Blum, A. W. (2025) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/9781009280099.014
Neuroimaging Biomarkers in Dissociative Identity Disorder
Marr, M. C., Kaufman, M. L., & Lebois, L. A. M. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-73368-0_46 · Cited by 1
Dissociative Disorders: Symptomatology and Genes
Rajkumar, R. P. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-73368-0_48
Rondel, H. M., Dorahy, M. J., & Liew, K. (2025) · Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1080/15299732.2025.2564654
“These results align with literature highlighting amnesia, confusion about one’s identity, and depersonalization/derealization as central symptoms of DID (Dorahy et al., 2014; Steinberg, 1994).”
Self-citationDiagrammatic Representations of Neural Transduction Theory (NTT)Preprint
Epstein, R., & Zhao, L. (2026) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.6174419
Pan, X., Palermo, C. A., Bair, Z. A., Hill, S. B., Kaplan, C. S., Marr, M. C., Modell, R. L., Purcell, J. B., Shanahan, M. E., Swee, M. B., et al. (2026) · Journal of Psychiatric Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2026.03.003
Matthews, G., Chiam, M., & Ho, M. (2026) · Asian Journal of Medical Humanities · doi:10.1515/ajmedh-2025-0061
“…giving prominence to dissociative identity disorder so early in the series is potentially misleading given that the condition is extremely rare [31]; this production choice enhances the dramatic impetus of the show yet creates the impression that mental health disorders are linked to increased…”
Frey, M. (2026) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-3-437-21237-6.00015-6
Rethinking XR inclusivity means rethinking embodiment
Ramirez, E. J. (2026) · Ethics and Information Technology · doi:10.1007/s10676-026-09899-w
“Pathological delusions about identity (Dorahy et al., 2014), illusions of body ownership like the “rubber hand” illusion (Kammers et al., 2009), and illusions of bodily control (Wegner, 2017) all raise questions about the role that subjective experience can play in determining whether something is,…”
Zhu, L., Zhang, M., Hou, Y., Yang, R., & Wang, J. (2026) · Frontiers in Psychiatry · doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2026.1811215
Bowes, A., & Dammeyer, J. (2026) · European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2026.100683
Multidimensional Dissociation, Shame, Trauma and Ethnicity
Thomson, P., & Jaque, S. V. (2026) · Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1080/15299732.2026.2674552
“The need to further explore ethnic group differences as well as understand racial discrimination, race-based trauma, and how to develop effective clinical treatment and policy making is essential (Dorahy et al., 2014; Hall-Clark et al., 2016).”
Kapfhammer, H. (2026) · Springer Reference Medizin · doi:10.1007/978-3-642-45028-0_73-2
Ergül, H., Uysal, B., Acartürk, C., & Yanık, M. (2026) · European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2026.100699
Söderberg, A., Looi, G. E., Lindgren, B., Bäckström, J., & Gabrielsson, S. (2026) · International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1080/17482631.2026.2700066
“…acknowledging that familial, societal and cultural factors may give rise to the trauma and that they may influence the expression of the states (Dorahy et al., 2014; Sar et al., 2017) while other explanatory models, such as the sociocognitive model acknowledges that trauma can be a part of the…”
Kılıç, B. (2026) · Case Reports in Psychiatry · doi:10.1155/crps/1403303
Enhanced Machine Learning Models for the Detection of Dissociative Identity Disorder
Manjeti, V. B., Jolly, A., Saroya, A., Dubey, D., Kadre, S., Mahanti, B., Nischal, P., Jaypuria, J., & Mahanty, C. (2026) · OPJU International Technology Conference on Smart Computing for Innovation and Advancement in Industry (OTCON) · doi:10.1109/otcon69332.2026.11629676
“Dorahy et al. [14] gave a thorough empirical overview of DID, which served to further emphasize the clinical significance of accurate diagnosis and trauma-informed care.”
Miño-Reyes, V., Larenas-Matta, P., Quijada-Leyton, M. J., & Nvo-Fernández, M. (2026) · European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2026.100763 · Cited by 1
Schimmenti, A. (2026) · European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2026.100765
Sohn, A., Tadros, E., & Bolle, J. (2026) · Sexual & Relationship Therapy · doi:10.1080/14681994.2026.2741916
Coleman, S. (2026) · European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation · doi:10.1016/j.ejtd.2026.100770
Metadata
- Authors
- Dorahy, M. J., Brand, B. L., Şar, V., Krüger, C., Stavropoulos, P., Martínez-Taboas, A., Lewis-Fernández, R., & Middleton, W.
- Affiliations
- University of Canterbury (NZ)
- Towson University (US)
- Istanbul University (TR)
- University of Pretoria (ZA)
- Adults Surviving Child Abuse, Sydney, Australia
- Department of Psychology, Carlos Albizu University, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, USA
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- Venue
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2014-05
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 402-417
- ISSN
- 0004-8674 (ISSN-L)
- 1440-1614
- OpenAlex
- W2118227624
- Cited by
- 225
- References
- 186
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 26 · 2024: 30 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 17 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 6
- FWCI
- 2.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- hdl.handle.net
- Locations
- Australian & New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UpSpace Institutional Repository (University of Pretoria) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Psychoanalysis and Psychopathology Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Keywords
- dissociative identity disorder, dissociative disorders, diagnostic validity, childhood trauma, amnesia, neurobiology, cognitive correlates, metacognition, psychotherapy
- MeSH terms
- Brain, Cognition Disorders, Humans, Dissociative Identity Disorder, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Psychotherapy, Reproducibility of Results, Neuroimaging
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
