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History, Phenomenology, and Epidemiology of Dissociation

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Handbook of Dissociation

Abstract

The dissociative disorders have a unique history within psychology and psychiatry. Our understanding of this history, particularly the contributions of Pierre Janet in the nineteenth century (Ellenberger, 1970; Nemiah, 1989; Putnam, 1989; Ross, 1989; van der Hart & Friedman, 1989), has shifted radically since 1980. Intertwined with this development, a detailed, replicated description of the phenomenology of dissociation has been built up, based primarily on research in North America (North, Ryall, Ricci, & Wetzel, 1993), with significant contributions from the Netherlands & Belgium (Boon & Draijer, 1993; Vanderlinden, 1993). A considerable amount of work has been done on the epidemiology of dissociation within clinical populations and a lesser amount among college students (Frischholtz et al., 1990; Ross, Ryan, Anderson, Ross, & Hardy, 1989e; Ross, Ryan, Voigt, & Eide, 1990c; Sanders, McRoberts, & Tollefson, 1989). One general population survey of dissociation has been completed in North America (Ross, 1991; Ross, Joshi, and Currie, 1990a, 1991b).

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  1. Charter Behavioral Health System of Dallas, Dissociative Disorders Unit, Plano, Texas, 75024, USA

    Colin A. Ross

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  1. The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA

    Larry K. Michelson  & William J. Ray  & 

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Ross, C.A. (1996). History, Phenomenology, and Epidemiology of Dissociation. In: Michelson, L.K., Ray, W.J. (eds) Handbook of Dissociation. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-0310-5_1

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