Attitudinal Predictors of Dissociation: Hostility and Powerlessness

Abstract

The relationship between dissociative tendencies and attitudes relating to aggression and powerlessness was investigated in a sample of 106 Australian psychology students. Dissociation was positively related to aspects of aggression and in particular to an attitude of hostility. Respondents' perceptions of their own powerlessness did not predict proneness to dissociative experiences. The data are consistent with the view that trauma-engendered attitudes and affects may be markers of the development of dissociative tendencies.