Factor Structure and Clinical Correlates of The Dissociative Symptoms Scale (DSS) Korean Version Among Community Sample With Adverse Childhood Experiences

ABSTRACT

This study examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of the Dissociative Symptoms Scale (DSS) among the Korean community adult population with adverse childhood experiences (ACE). Data were drawn from community sample data sets collected from an online panel investigating the impact of ACE and ultimately consisted of data from a total of 1304 participants. A confirmatory factor analysis revealed a bi-factor model with a general factor and four sub-factors such as depersonalization/derealization, gaps in awareness and memory, sensory misperceptions, and cognitive behavioral reexperiencing, which are the four factors that correspond to the original DSS. The DSS showed good internal consistency as well as convergent validity with clinical correlates such as posttraumatic stress disorder, somatoform dissociation, and emotion dysregulation. The high-risk group with more ACE was associated with increased DSS. These findings support the multidimensionality of dissociation and the validity of Korean DSS scores in a general population sample.

KEYWORDS:

• Dissociation
• posttraumatic stress disorder
• emotion regulation
• childhood trauma

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this research, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.

Notes

¹ A preliminary analysis of this study was presented in a poster session in 2022 Spring Annual Meeting of the Korean Clinical Psychology Association.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the research grant of the Chungbuk National University in 2018