The psychometric properties of the adolescent dissociative experiences scale (A-DES) in a sample of Portuguese at-risk adolescents

ABSTRACT

Dissociation is a process that often occurs as a sequela of psychological trauma, and it is interrelated with psychological and behavioral problems. In the at-risk adolescent population, dissociation is often underdiagnosed and undertreated. Having reliable measures to assess this phenomenon can help in identifying adolescents at-risk and improve treatment outcomes. This study assessed the psychometric properties of the Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES) with a sample of 402 Portuguese adolescents recruited from three at-risk populations. Participants completed self-report measures of trauma exposure, posttraumatic symptoms, psychological and behavioral problems, and the A-DES. A subset of the sample also completed test-retest measures. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a best-fitting 3-factor model. Analyses revealed good internal consistencies and good agreement test-retest reliability for the scale overall and the factor-based sub-scales. Construct and predictive validity was supported with results showing that A-DES discriminates between youth reporting high versus low levels of cumulative trauma exposure and youth who meet or do not meet criteria for a probable PTSD diagnosis. Study findings replicate prior research supporting a 3-factor model of dissociation and the usefulness of A-DES to identify adolescents with dissociative symptoms. Clinical and research implications are discussed.

KEYWORDS:

• Dissociation
• adolescents
• A-DES
• psychometric properties

Acknowledgments

The authors express appreciation to the Child Protective Services, the Vocational Schools, and the Foster Care Institutions from North of Portugal. Finally, the authors are grateful to the adolescents who, generously and patiently, participated in this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability

The data supporting this study’s findings are available from the corresponding author, Patricia Correia-Santos, upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was conducted at the Psychology Research Centre (CIPsi/UM) School of Psychology, University of Minho, supported by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the Portuguese State Budget (UIDB/01662/2020), as well as through the funding of a research grant awarded to the first author ;Foundation for Science and Technology [SFRH/BD/129194/2017,UIDB/01662/2020];