Personality profiles of patients with dissociative trance disorder in Singapore

Abstract

This report studies the personality of individuals who suffer from dissociative trance disorder and examines whether the personality profiles could predict the individual's frequency of trance states. A total of 58 cases were given the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ) and their personal information harvested from the case notes and through subsequent interviews. The subjects were also reassessed 1 year later to obtain their frequency of trance states. For both sexes, there were lower extraversion scores and higher psychoticism, neuroticism, and lie scores in the sample compared to the Singapore norms. Of the 47 subjects traced, total episodes of trances that occurred over the 1-year period was positively correlated with neuroticism and negatively with extraversion scores. The high lie scores in individuals with dissociative trance disorder could be a reflection of their concern of how others perceive them. The motivation could be that of restoration of self-esteem or "face." The profiles in the EPQ could be used to predict the individual's frequency of trance states. Subjects with personality traits like nervousness, excitability, and emotional instability were more likely to have a higher frequency of trance states.