Dissociative Experiences Scale

My total score was 87. Just proves how screwed up I am.

I scored myself on the DES again today. Here are my scores:

2011.05 47
2011.06 55
2011.07 33
2012.03 62

My DES score is higher now because (a) I am hearing voices (alters) and experiencing other forms of passive influence far more often, (b) I am having (or am becoming more aware of having) more episodes of dissociative amnesia, and (c) I am having more frequent episodes of depersonalization and derealization. The episodes do not last long now because my grounding skills are better. Also, now my knowledge of what is happening is deeper and I am far more able to tolerate everything. I find it reassuring to know that everything I am experiencing is normal for someone who has a dissociative disorder, it is treatable, I am getting appropriate treatment, and I am healing.

Just for kicks today I also did the schizophrenia assessment on the same website (link below). My score was in the severe range and the boilerplate text result was:

Higher Levels of Experience Associated With Schizophrenia or Psychotic Disorders, But Mitigating Factors

Your answers to this schizophrenia screening test fall into a range which suggests higher levels of experiences which might, under the careful evaluation of a psychiatrist, be considered clinically significant. However, you also reported one or more of the following mitigating factors which ordinarily preclude (or at least complicate) a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders:

[...] 4. You reported that the experiences highlighted by the quiz have not caused significant impairment in your work, relationships or social activities, or your ability to look after yourself.

This screening test asks many questions about Schneiderian first-rank symptoms: hearing voices, etc. Schneiderian first-rank symptoms were first described as hallmarks of schizophrenia but are now known to be more typical of a major dissociative disorder. One question asks if I think I can read minds. Of course, answering "Yes, definitely" contributes to my high score. But my answer reflects reality, not psychosis: other people tell me I seem to read their minds.

DID Forum: Dissociative Experiences Scale

CounsellingResource.com: Schizophrenia Test and Early Psychosis Indicator (STEPI, Version 2011.1)

The scoring of the online test is very different from the scoring a psychiatrist will give you. This just shows you the high score.

Mine is 81 with the online, but this is probably too high to be considered valid. I don't know.

I don't know the score I got from when I took the test from a professional, I just know he said...

Dang! You certainly have DID!

-- Sun Mar 11, 2012 10:36 am --

AnxxietyAttacks wrote:Hi, I scored 75, but dont have DID. Never been diagnosed. I have schizoaffective disorder.

Should I be concerned in any way? I suspected DID for many reasons, and some that conflict with my current disorder.

This is why an online test should not be taken or considered as an indicator. Have a professional administer and score the test.

tylas wrote:The scoring of the online test is very different from the scoring a psychiatrist will give you.

No. The scoring is exactly the same, whether done by this website or by a person following the published instructions. I have confirmed this myself.

If the psychiatrist tells the client what values to choose, that is interference.

From the DES some evaluators like to compute a partial score for the questions relating to identity confusion, identity alteration, and dissociative amnesia. Taken together, those questions address all the diagnostic criteria for DID. However, there has been no validation study of the partial score.

I got a 78 today. I can't remember the score from a few months ago.

Hm, I got a 55. Guess I'm having a good day.

All structured psychological tests, those on line and those given under strict guidelines by a psychologist, will likely result in very high scores for dissociative individuals on the schizophrenia scales. In fact, it has been shown on all of these tests that DID patients score significantly higher than those diagnosed with schizophrenia. High scores are not what indicate validity. There are other questions for that. High scores on a schizophrenia scale usually indicate a dissociative disorder.

There is one assessment that attempts to distinguish between psychosis and dissociation. That is the Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale. We have a thread about it (link below).

[edit] Actually, what I wrote above is inaccurate. What is more accurate is this: the assessment does not label symptoms as either psychotic or dissociative. The companion article makes the point that many symptoms often blindly interpreted as evidence of psychosis are more common in people who are patently not psychotic because they are high functioning and outwardly normal: their reality testing is intact.

DID Forum: Cardiff Anomalous Perceptions Scale

Does it? I just read the article. It reports on psychotic experiences being on a continuum and being prevalent in the general population, but mentions nothing about dissociation or dissociative disorders (unless I missed something?). I'm not trying to be persnickety (I like that word), but I would really be interested if there was actually a validated scale out there that deciphers between the 2 (besides the SCID-D, which really just assesses for dissociative disorders).

I don't know anything about this test, just that my total score is not all that is looked at. Some stats had to be applied to it to tell much of anything. For me it depends on who takes the test. When a professional did it, Jessica took the test. She is inside now. 5 year old Hope took the test a bit ago and got 81. She pops out quick for stuff like this. She likes to be seen.


I found this that might help.

"As reviewed in Chapter Six, the higher the DES score, the more likely it is that the person has DID. In a sample of 1,051 clinical subjects, however, only 17% of those scoring above 30 on the DES actually had DID (Carlson et al., 1993). The DES is not a diagnostic instrument. It is a screening instrument. High scores on the DES do not prove that a person has a dissociative disorder, they only suggest that clinical assessment for dissociation is warranted. This is how we report DES scores in our consults, as within or not within the range for DID, and as consistent or not consistent with the clinical and DDIS diagnosis of DID. DID subjects sometimes have low scores, so a low score does not rule out DID. In fact, given that in most studies the average DES score for a DID patient is in the 40s, and the standard deviation about 20, roughly about 15% of clinically diagnosed DID patients score below 20 on the DES."

much more...

http://rossinst.com/dissociative_experiences_scale.html

Dissociative Experiences Scale Test Answers

Total score of: 73
(30 or Above, Higher Association With DID)


I scored 73
Im wondering about the questions about forgetting stuff you do...I mean I always figured it was normal to forget things. SOmetmies I forget things I buy and stuff I wrote...but do others forget stuff like this?
I mean how much do the normans (the normal folk ) remember? bleh

I hope 73 doesnt mean its really bad.