Demographic variables and microCog performance: relationships for VA patients under treatment for substance abuse.

The associations of demographic variables with cognitive performance, as measured by the MicroCog ability domain scores, were assessed with 222 substance abusers who were patients in a VA medical center. Analysis indicated that age was negatively related to all five outcomes scores, and education was positively related to measures assessing Attention/Mental Control and Reasoning/Calculation. These findings are consistent with past theoretical and applied research. The demographic variables, as a group, accounted for a total of 17% to 37% of the variance in the five domain scores.

Cultural differences on three measures of dissociation in a substance abuse population.

Scores on three measures of dissociation were compared between 48 African American and 48 Caucasian men being treated for substance abuse at a VA Medical Center. The three assessment instruments included the Dissociative Experience Scale, the Questionnaire of Experiences of Dissociation, and the North Carolina Index of Dissociation. Groups were matched with respect to age, education, marital status, number of previous treatments, IQ, employment status, history of childhood abuse, and psychological discomfort. In each case, the African-American group scored higher, with statistical significance being achieved on two of the three instruments. Potential implications of these findings were discussed and future research was suggested.

Comorbidity of dissociative disorders among patients with substance use disorders.

OBJECTIVES: The study replicated methods used in an earlier study to determine the prevalence of dissociative disorders among patients with substance use disorders and to examine demographic characteristics and history of childhood abuse among patients with and without dissociative comorbidity. METHODS: A total of 100 inpatients who were completing a substance abuse treatment program at a VA medical center were interviewed using the Dissociative Disorders Interview Schedule, which diagnoses dissociative disorders. Two additional screening measures of dissociative symptoms were used, as well as an instrument to measure IQ. RESULTS: Fifteen percent of the sample were diagnosed as having a dissociative disorder. Compared with patients without a dissociative disorder, the patients with a dissociative disorder had significantly higher median scores on the two screening measures, indicating more dissociative experiences and the presence of five distinct symptom clusters. The two groups did not differ in history of childhood abuse or IQ. CONCLUSIONS: The results support earlier findings suggesting that patients with substance abuse disorder should be routinely screened for dissociative symptoms and disorders.

Belief in the existence of multiple personality disorder among psychologists and psychiatrists.

The present study surveyed the attitudes of psychiatrists and psychologists with regard to the existence of dissociative and multiple personality disorders. Questionnaires were sent to psychiatrists and psychologists in all VA Medical Centers. A total of 1,120 VA psychologists and psychiatrists completed the surveys. More than 97% of respondents indicated that they believed in dissociative disorders, while 80% reported a belief in multiple personality disorder. Belief in multiple personality disorder was related significantly to profession, age, and years of experience.

Neurodiagnostic implications of abnormal verbal-performance IQ discrepancies on the WAIS-R: a comparison with the standardization sample.

The neurodiagnostic value of Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) Verbal-Performance IQ (VIQ-PIQ) discrepancies was evaluated in a brain-damaged sample. The VIQ-PIQ differences of 260 neurologically impaired patients was compared to the WAIS-R standardization sample. The average VIQ-PIQ discrepancy of the patients was significantly larger than the mean IQ difference for normals. Comparison of the number of subjects whose VIQ-PIQ discrepancy equaled or exceeded 95% of the controls revealed no differences for the total sample and for individuals with low average or average intelligence. Conversely, the frequency of abnormal VIQ-PIQ differences was significantly greater among patients with Full Scale IQs

Dissociative symptoms in a substance abuse population.

OBJECTIVE: This study was intended to examine the extent of dissociative experiences that exist within a substance abuse population and to determine how demographic and clinical variables affect these experiences. METHOD: A total of 265 male veterans being treated on an inpatient substance abuse unit completed a standard test battery that included the MMPI-2, the Shipley-Hartford Institute of Living Scale, and the Dissociative Experiences Scale. Additional demographic and clinical information was obtained from the patients' medical records. RESULTS: Over 41% of the cohort had scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale that suggested the need for further evaluation of a dissociative disorder. A stepwise multiple regression analysis revealed that level of psychological discomfort, IQ, and race accounted for more than 24% of the variance in Dissociative Experiences Scale scores. CONCLUSIONS: Substance abuse populations may need to be routinely screened for dissociative symptoms just as they are for depression and anxiety.

Reading level of the Dissociative Experiences Scale.

Reading difficulty values based upon the Flesch reading grade level and reading ease score (Flesch, 1949) were calculated for the 28 items of the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES; Bernstein & Putnam, 1986). Item reading levels ranged from the sixth to more than the thirteenth grade. According to the reading level formula, 43% of the items required at least a high school education. The reading ease estimate suggested that only 1 item required at least 12 years of schooling. Overall, a tenth- to eleventh-grade reading level was required for the entire DES. For persons with confirmed or suspected reading difficulties, interpretation of the DES should be made cautiously.