1. Depersonalization experiences in undergraduates are related to heightened stress cortisol responses.
- Author
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Giesbrecht T, Smeets T, Merckelbach H, and Jelicic M
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Belgium ethnology, Child Behavior Disorders diagnosis, Child Behavior Disorders metabolism, Depersonalization diagnosis, Dissociative Disorders diagnosis, Dissociative Disorders psychology, Female, Humans, Hydrocortisone analysis, Life Change Events, Male, Minors psychology, Netherlands ethnology, Personality Inventory, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Refugees psychology, Saliva chemistry, Stress, Psychological metabolism, Stress, Psychological psychology, Students, Surveys and Questionnaires, Depersonalization metabolism, Depersonalization psychology, Hydrocortisone metabolism, Stress, Psychological diagnosis
- Abstract
The relationship between dissociative tendencies, as measured with the Dissociative Experiences Scale and its amnesia, absorption/imaginative involvement, and depersonalization/derealization subscales, and HPA axis functioning was studied in 2 samples of undergraduate students (N = 58 and 67). Acute stress was induced by means of the Trier Social Stress Test. Subjective and physiological stress (i.e., cortisol) responses were measured. Individuals high on the depersonalization/derealization subscale of the Dissociative Experiences Scale exhibited more pronounced cortisol responses, while individuals high on the absorption subscale showed attenuated responses. Interestingly, subjective stress experiences, as indicated by the Tension-Anxiety subscale of the Profile of Mood States, were positively related to trait dissociation. The present findings illustrate how various types of dissociation (i.e., depersonalization/derealization, absorption) are differentially related to cortisol stress responses.
- Published
- 2007
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