Dissociative Identity Disorder

INTRODUCTION:
Dissociative identity disorder (DID), also known as multiple personality disorder (MPD), is a disorder that is part of a group of conditions known as dissociative disorders. According to WebMD, dissociative disorders "are mental illnesses that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity and/or perception."
Individuals who suffer from DID possess two or more personalities, and they may be unaware that they have multiple personalities. This particular mental illness is found in "3 to 4% of people hospitalized for other mental health disorders and in a sizable minority of people in drug abuse treatment facilities" (Merk Manuals, Online Medical
Library). DID "appears to be caused by the interaction of several factors," including "overwhelming stress; an ability to separate one 's memories, perceptions, or identity from conscious awareness; abnormal psychologic development, and insufficient protection and nurture during childhood" (Merk Manuals, Online Medical Library). Many studies have been done on this topic in the recent years as this field has generated great interest.
The purpose and general interest of this annotated bibliography is to thoroughly examine dissociative identity disorder. Our research begins with looking into the history of this diagnostic category, while it also includes the controversies surrounding the actuality of the disorder, and whether or not it is just a “fad". Starting with examining the general background of this mental disease, we will move on to more specific topics such as the etiology of the disorder and the treatment methods. The discussion at the end will summarize our findings.
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY:
Armstrong, J. G., Brand, B. L., & Loewenstein, R. J. (2006, March). Psychological assessment of patients with dissociative identity disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 29(1), 145-168.
Armstrong, Brand, and Loewenstein (2006) mainly look into how “psychologic assessment”

Bibliography: Armstrong, J. G., Brand, B. L., & Loewenstein, R. J. (2006, March). Psychological assessment of patients with dissociative identity disorder Armstrong, Brand, and Loewenstein (2006) mainly look into how “psychologic assessment” aids the diagnosis of dissociative identity disorder Reinders, Nijenhuis, Quak, Korf, Haaksma, Paans, Willemsen and den Boer (2006) look into whether the dissociative identity states (DIS) “show different psychobiological reactions to trauma-related memory” In this article, Foote, Kaplan, Legatt, Lipschitz, and Smolin (2006) had the objective to "assess the prevalence of DSM-IV dissociative disorders in an inner-city outpatient psychiatric population." The authors suggest that Kahler, J. A., & Turkus, J. A. (2006, March). Therapeutic interventions in the treatment of dissociative disorders Kahler and Turkus (2006) explicitly look into the techniques of treatment for patients diagnosed with dissociative disorders McAllister, M. M. (2000, February). Dissociative identity disorder: a literature review. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 7(1), 25-33. McAllister (2000) points out in his research that in spite of improved diagnostic methods today, dissociative identity disorder (DID) remains very much a controversial illness, as “even among mental health professionals opinions are divided.” The author cites Middleton (1995) that some believe the existence of the illness cannot be denied and numerous people are suffering due to their disbelief, while some believe the symptoms of DID might actually be Merskey, H. & Piper, A. (2004, September). The persistence of folly: A critical examination of dissociative identity disorder In this article, Piper and Merskey (2004) analyze the conception of dissociative identity disorder by reviewing the literature regarding this diagnostic category Merskey, H. & Piper, A. (2004, October). The persistence of folly: Critical examination of dissociative identity disorder Merskey and Piper (2004) resume their exploration of “the illogical nature of the arguments offered to support the concept of dissociative identity disorder.” The authors emphasize that there are no effective diagnostic or Muller, R. J. (1998, November). A patient with dissociative identity disorder 'switches ' in the emergency room. Psychiatric times, 9(11). Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/p981107.htm l In this article, Muller (1998) examines the observation of a patient who suffers from dissociative identity disorder. Nickeas, R., & Stickley, T. (2006, April). Becoming one person: living with dissociative identity disorder. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, 13(2), 180-187. Nickeas and Stickely (2006) look into the historical aspect of the disease, the etiology, the symptoms, and the involved controversy in this piece of research. Rieber, R. W. (2002). The duality of the brain and the multiplicity of minds: can you have it both ways? History of Psychiatry, 13, 3-17. Waiess, E. A. (2006, June). Treatment of dissociative identity: "Tortured child syndrome". Psychoanalytic Review, 93(3), 477-500. Waiess (2006) specifically looks into the behavior of patients diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID) and the corresponding diagnosis for them (2001). Dissociative identity disorder. Gale Encyclopedia of Psychology. Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2699/is_0001/ai_2699000101 (2003). Dissociative identity disorder. Merk. Retrieved November 7, 2007, from http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec07/ch106/ch106d.html