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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staffDissociative disorders usually develop as a way to cope with trauma. The disorders most often form in children subjected to chronic physical, sexual or emotional abuse or, less frequently, a home environment that is otherwise frightening or highly unpredictable.
Personal identity is still forming during childhood, so a child is more able than is an adult to step outside herself or himself and observe trauma as though it's happening to a different person. A child who learns to dissociate in order to endure an extended period of his or her youth may use this coping mechanism in response to stressful situations throughout life.
Rarely, adults may develop dissociative disorders in response to severe trauma.
- Dissociative disorders. In: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV-TR. 4th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Association; 2000. http://www.psychiatryonline.com. Accessed Jan. 20, 2009.
- Maldonado JR, et al. Dissociative disorders. In: Hales RE, et al., eds. The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry. 5th ed. Arlington, Va.: American Psychiatric Publishing; 2008:665.
- Dissociation and dissociative disorders. National Mental Health Association. http://www.nmha.org/index.cfm?objectId=C7DF8D4E-1372-4D20-C86C22067E838DF0&CFID=306278&CFTOKEN=696f1d08c4d6ecd2-823F75DC-1372-4D20-C8B94665B1F8DBE7. Accessed Jan. 20, 2009.
- Frequently asked questions: Dissociation and dissociative disorders. International Society for the Study of Trauma and Dissociation. http://www.isst-d.org/education/faq-dissociation.htm. Accessed Jan. 20, 2009.
- Turkus JA, et al. Therapeutic interventions in the treatment of dissociative disorders. Psychiatric Clinics of North America. 2006;29:245.
- Chu JA, et al. Guidelines for treating dissociative identity disorder in adults. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 2005;6:69.
- Silberg J, et al. Guidelines for treating dissociative identity disorder in children and adolescents. Journal of Trauma & Dissociation. 2004;5:119.
- Berkowitz CD. Child maltreatment. In: Marx JA, et al., eds. Marx: Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 6th ed. St. Louis, Mo.: Mosby; 2006:968.
- Sar V, et al. Dissociative disorders in the psychiatric emergency ward. General Hospital Psychiatry. 2007;29:45.
