Boelen, P. A., Keijsers, L., & Hout, M. A. van den (2012). Peritraumatic dissociation following loss: Latent structure and associations with psychopathology. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 200, 362-364.

Abstract

This study investigated the factor-structure of retrospectively-assessed peritraumatic dissociation in the moments surrounding the death of a loved one, and concurrent and prospective associations of such peritraumatic dissociation with loss-related emotional distress. Data were available from 168 people, bereaved in the preceding year. They completed the Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ) with their loss as the index-event, together with measures of Prolonged-Grief-Disorder, depression, and posttraumatic stress-disorder; 117 completed symptom-measures again, one year later. Confirmatory factor analysis-comparing the fit of four competing models-showed that the 8-item one-factor model found in the first study with the PDEQ provided the best fit to the data. Peritraumatic dissociation predicted concurrent and prospective symptom-levels, even when controlling for neuroticism and demographic and loss-related variables.