Nov 28, · Multiple Personality Disorder (or MPD) is a psychological disorder where a person possesses more than one developed personality. These personalities have their own way of thinking, feeling, and acting that may be completely different from what another personality is like (1).Estimated Reading Time: 4 mins In the paper, three main points: the causes, symptoms and treatment of multiple personality disorder will be discussed. The paper will examine all possible causes of the multiple personality disorder and its symptoms. At the end, analysis of all possible ways of curing multiple personality disorder will be made. Multiple personality disorder is mostly caused by prolonged child abuse, especially sexual PERSONALITY DISORDERS RESEARCH PAPER 2 I. ABSTRACT This paper will focus on outlining the current structure of criteria for personality disorders and provide a brief description of each disorder. The focus will move biological and/or genetic causes associated with personality disorders. Next the focus will be on currently accepted methods for assessing and treating personality disorders
Essay on Psychology. Research Paper on Multiple Personality Disorder
This sample Dissociative Disorders Research Paper is published for educational and informational purposes only. If you need help writing your assignment, please use our research paper writing service and buy a paper on any topic at affordable price. Also check our tips on how to write a research papersee the lists of psychology research paper topicsand browse research paper examples.
In this research-paper, the focus is on a group of disorders that generates more controversy than any other diagnostic category, especially two of them: dissociative identity disorder, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder, and dissociative amnesia.
Throughout this research-paper I use the designations mental health field and mental health professionals rather than psychology and psychologists to reflect the wide diversity of professions involved in the controversy over these diagnoses, for example, psychiatry, social work, counseling, and, of course, psychology. The controversy is principally over the dramatic increase in the frequency of dissociative diagnoses since the s, although some professionals also seriously question the legitimacy of these diagnoses.
For example, some research indicates only about one fourth of psychiatrists believe multiple personalities are strongly supported by data. Thigpen and Cleckly —authors of The Three Faces of Eve —reported that of many thousands of cases referred to them they found only one genuine multiple personality.
Even if one accepts the diagnoses, does the reported increase reflect a genuine rise in the rate of the disorders or is it a result of misdiagnosis? We examine both sides of this controversy subsequently in a separate section. The concept of dissociative disorders rests in the word itself. To dissociate is the opposite of associate; therefore, to dissociate is to separate.
A person with this disorder has separated some part of his or her psychological experience s from other aspects of psychological functioning. The amount of separated material may vary from relatively restricted to all encompassing. In recent years the information media, outline research paper multiple personality disorder television news, have presented numerous cases of reported dissociative disorders, specifically amnesia, fugue, and multiple personality.
The media attention generates the impression these disorders are more common than is true. In the first DSMthe disorder was categorized as a psychoneurotic disorder i. By the time of the second edition DSM-II inthe disorder was in the neuroses section and was listed under two subtypes: hysterical neurosis, dissociative type which included amnesia, fugue, and multiple personality and depersonalization neurosis.
Prior to the first DSM, there was no consistent nomenclature, but the disorder was recognized and was usually labeled with some variation of hysterical neurosis or reaction. The current edition of the diagnostic manual, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, outline research paper multiple personality disorder, Fourth Edition, Text Revision DSM-IV-TR; American Psychiatric Association,describes the dissociative disorders category as involving a disruption of what are usually integrated psychological functions such as memory, perception, identity, or consciousness.
The manual designates five subtypes of dissociative disorders: dissociative amnesia, dissociative fugue, outline research paper multiple personality disorder, dissociative identity disorder DIDdepersonalization disorder, and dissociative disorder not otherwise specified NOS. The last category, outline research paper multiple personality disorder, Dissociative Disorder NOS, is for the occasional individual who has symptoms outline research paper multiple personality disorder a dissociative disorder, but the symptoms do not correspond to any of the first four categories.
Because it does not describe any specific set of symptoms, I will not describe this category further. Amnesia refers to an inability to recall important material. Some amnesia is due to brain involvement, such as injury or the effects of drugs e. Dissociative amnesia means the inability to outline research paper multiple personality disorder important personal material is due to psychological factors and cannot be explained by normal forgetfulness.
The lost material, outline research paper multiple personality disorder, usually of some traumatic or very stressful situation, is not forgotten; rather, it is being actively kept out of consciousness or awareness in an attempt to protect the person from being psychologically overwhelmed.
Different theories characterize this activity differently. The DSM does not offer separate diagnoses for different types of dissociative amnesia, but it does describe five types. Localized amnesia refers to not being able to recall something that occurred in a limited time span, usually from a few minutes to a few days at most. Selective amnesia means an inability to recall some details of an event whereas other details are available. Finally, systematized amnesia is the inability to recall a certain category of information, such as military or educational events.
Regardless of outline research paper multiple personality disorder type of amnesia, including the generalized type, not all memories are lost. For example, the person can still do basic academic skills, drive, shop, or play cards. The current DSM presents no data on the prevalence of this disorder, but most professionals in the field consider it extremely rare.
A person with this diagnosis combines psychological amnesia, almost always of the generalized type, with physically leaving, usually after a trauma or severe stress. He or she may leave home or work and move within the same city or may move to a distant location with little or no recall of the details of her or his previous life.
There is, of course, uncertainty about identity, but only occasionally does the individual assume a completely new identity. In other areas of psychological and social functioning, outline research paper multiple personality disorder, the person does not appear to be seriously impaired.
The fugue may last from hours to years. The DSM reports a prevalence rate of 0. As was true of dissociative amnesia, the basis for the fugue must be psychological, not medical. For example, there is a type of seizure that involves dissociative-like symptoms and may be accompanied by physically leaving.
This seizure disorder is known by several names: temporal lobe seizures, psychomotor seizures, and its more formal title, complex-partial seizures.
With this category, the individual deals with a traumatic or stressful event by developing at least one more personality; there are two or more distinctly different personalities, very much as if two or more people inhabit the same body. This is the ultimate dissociation. The number of personalities may range from as few as two to a hundred or more.
One psychiatrist reported a patient with personalities. The DSM notes half the reported cases have 10 outline research paper multiple personality disorder fewer personalities. The amount of time anyone personality is in control varies widely. Psychological amnesia is, not surprisingly, an aspect of this diagnosis.
This category is diagnosed more frequently in adult women than in men but is diagnosed about equally in boys and girls. Women tend to have more personalities than men, and there are differences in rate of diagnosis by country. Outline research paper multiple personality disorder diagnosis is much more frequent in the United States and Canada; in fact, it is rarely diagnosed elsewhere.
As was previously noted, the DID category is steeped in controversy. This will be addressed in a later section. It refers to the experience of briefly feeling detached from oneself or the environment.
It is the feeling a person has walking down the street and suddenly feeling he is strangely detached from everything around him. During these episodes the person is aware of the peculiar feelings and is not out of touch with reality. Impaired reality contact is a characteristic of psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia.
The person may incur severe distress or be otherwise impaired in social or psychological functioning, such as having an intense fear of returning to where the depersonalization episode occurred, or fearing he or she has some serious medical or other psychological disorder. This diagnosis includes the requirements that reality contact must be unimpaired during the depersonalization episodes and the episodes must not be due to any other condition, medical e.
The DSM notes the prevalence rate for this disorder outline research paper multiple personality disorder unknown. Any discussion of causes and treatment for the dissociative disorders must begin with an important caveat.
Depending on which side of the controversy one accepts, there are either large numbers of cases from which the mental health field can derive causes and effective treatments, or there have been so few documented cases that little can be said with any certainty about any aspect of these disorders, outline research paper multiple personality disorder. Skeptics of the category believe it is grossly overdiagnosed and the clients warrant another more accurate diagnosis; therefore, whatever is concluded about causes and treatment is based on a misdiagnosis and is, by extension, misinformation.
I discuss the full extent of this controversy in the next section. As most of the general public realizes, and mental health professionals know, there are a multitude of explanations for all mental disorders, outline research paper multiple personality disorder, including dissociative disorders.
Quite simply, how one explains this category depends on which theory is accepted; however, it is beyond the scope of this research-paper to discuss various theoretical viewpoints. Suffice it to say that the most popular theoretical explanation is some form of psychodynamic approach e. Regardless of which specific theory is employed, the common thread would be that the individual has suffered a traumatic event, almost always in childhood.
The event is so psychologically overwhelming that to protect itself, the mind pushes recognition of the event into the unconscious, thus preventing any overt awareness of it. By doing so, the person does not have to consciously deal with the event and can continue to operate more effectively in other aspects of psychological and social functioning. It follows that treatment involves uncovering what is deeply buried in the unconscious and resolving it, sometimes with drugs and with hypnosis.
The exact form of treatment would depend on which theory one accepts. Why one person develops one form of dissociative disorder—for example, dissociative fugue—and another person develops multiple personalities is not known. Regardless of which disorder is manifested, it is clear the person is attempting to escape the inner turmoil by mentally separating from it. For discussions of treatment, the books The Three Faces of Eve and Sybil should be read.
There are, of course, other possible explanations, such as the operant conditioning view that avoiding the memory of the traumatic event is reinforced because it reduces tension or stress, hence reduction in stress or tension is a negative reinforcer. Some theorists outline research paper multiple personality disorder suggested the possibility of self-hypnosis, whereas others have begun to investigate possible neurological factors. Other explanations have been offered but a detailed discussion is beyond the scope of this research-paper.
Independent of specific theories, some common factors are known about the people who develop dissociative dis-orders. There is wide agreement among those who endorse this category that the client was exposed to severe stress or trauma.
In the case of DID, the trauma is commonly severe sexual and physical abuse. There is also wide agreement that individuals with dissociative disorders, regardless of which subtype, are unusually anxious.
Finally, in terms of personality traits, outline research paper multiple personality disorder, individuals receiving these diagnoses are highly suggestible and hypnotizable. Given the debate over the number of dissociative disorders, success rates for treatment are unknown. To fully appreciate the controversy over the dissociative disorders requires an understanding of the history of this diagnosis. The controversy has centered on multiple personalities, which will be the main focus of this discussion, but controversy over amnesia and repressed memories must also be noted.
The estimates of the number of cases prior to the early s vary widely. Some writers have suggested that in the history of the world there have been no more than documented cases of this disorder. Other writers believe an estimate of cases is a gross exaggeration and place the number at or so, outline research paper multiple personality disorder. Still others believe the true number of cases is as few as 50; some believe it to be as few as What no professional would disagree with is that the reported occurrence of true multiple personalities was extremely rare prior to the s.
The vast majority of mental health professionals today have not, in their entire careers, encountered a single instance of any of outline research paper multiple personality disorder dissociative disorders. Most of these professionals acknowledge the reality of the diagnoses but temper it with the rarity of its occurrence.
Sybil was published in ; at about the same time, several journal articles were published on multiple personalities. Since the early s the number of reported cases of multiple personalities has reached into the tens of thousands. Some mental health professionals report having personally treated hundreds of cases.
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It is often thought that multiple personality disorder is a trick, a bizarre form of "play-acting" that is committed by manipulative, attention-seeking individuals. It is not. Multiple personality disorder is a "disorder of hiding" wherein % of multip, research paper diagnoses of DID, previously referred to as Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD), have increased exponentially, causing various psychological researchers and clinicians to question the validity of this disorder. DID is, however, currently recognized by the DSM-IV-TR as a true psychological disorder that emerges, most commonly, as a result ofFile Size: 31KB Dissociative identity disorder (DID) or Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD) is a mental illness where an individual expresses multiple personalities that may or may not be aware of each other. In ancient times, near the middle ages, DID was thought to be due to possession due to the fact mental illnesses back then had a supernatural theory attached to them
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