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Unpacking the depersonalization syndrome: an exploratory factor analysis on the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 July 2005

MAURICIO SIERRA ,
DAWN BAKER ,
NICHOLAS MEDFORD  and
ANTHONY S. DAVID
MAURICIO SIERRA
Affiliation:
Depersonalization Research Unit, Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London
DAWN BAKER
Affiliation:
Depersonalization Research Unit, Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London
NICHOLAS MEDFORD
Affiliation:
Depersonalization Research Unit, Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London
ANTHONY S. DAVID
Affiliation:
Depersonalization Research Unit, Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, London
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Abstract

Background. Depersonalization has long been considered a syndrome but there is poor agreement on its constituent symptoms.

Method. In order to establish whether different symptoms of depersonalization represent the expression of a single or several underlying dimensions, an exploratory factor analysis on the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS) was carried out on 138 consecutive patients diagnosed with depersonalization disorder.

Results. Four well determined factors accounting for 73·3% of the variance were extracted. These were labelled ‘Anomalous Body Experience’; ‘Emotional Numbing’; ‘Anomalous Subjective Recall’ and ‘Alienation from Surroundings’.

Conclusions. Symptoms of depersonalization belong to distinct but related psychopathological domains.

Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 35 , Issue 10 , October 2005 , pp. 1523 - 1532
Copyright
© 2005 Cambridge University Press

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