Document Type

Article

Peer Reviewed

1

Publication Date

5-2003

Journal/Book/Conference Title

Journal of Abnormal Psychology

Volume

112

NLM Title Abbreviation

J Abnorm Psychol

DOI

10.1037/0021-843X.112.2.298

PubMed ID

12784840

Abstract

Previous research has suggested the existence of a pathological dissociative taxon. However, relatively little is known about this taxon. This study examined the two-month retest stability of this taxon—together with other measures of dissociation and the Big Five—in a sample of 465 undergraduates. Contrary to expectation, taxon scores were only modestly stable and were substantially less stable than the other measures, including continuous indicators of dissociation. Furthermore, most individuals who were identified as taxon members at one assessment were classified as non-members at the other. These results challenge the existence of a pathological dissociative taxon. More generally, these data demonstrate that statistically-identified taxa need to be explicated through the normal process of construct validation.

Keywords

construct validity, dissociative taxon, DES-T, normal vs pathological dissociation, retest stability

Published Article/Book Citation

The definitive version was published in Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 112:2 (2003), pp. 298-305. DOI: 10.1037/0021-843X.112.2.298

Rights

Author Posting. Copyright © American Psychological Association, 2003. This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. It is posted here by permission of the APA for personal use, not for redistribution.

Recommended Citation

The definitive version was published in Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol 112(2), May 2003, 298-305. doi: 10.1037/0021-843X.112.2.298

 

URL

http://ir.uiowa.edu/psychology_pubs/4