Ridgeview Institute and the International Society for the Study of Dissociation
Abstract
p. 125-129The Adolescent Dissociative Experiences Scale (A-DES) is designed to measure dissociation in adolescents (ages 11-17). The A-DES measures dissociation in four areas: dissociative amnesia, absorption and imaginative involvement, depersonalization and derealization, and passive influence. The present study was designed to establish A-DES norms for general population adolescents and to study aspects of the reliability and validity of the A-DES. Test-retest reliability was studied by testing one group of subjects twice, with a two-week interval between test administrations. Internal consistency was assessed by measuring the split-half reliability of the A-DES. Cronbach's alphas were calculated for the A-DES global score and four subscales. Results of these three analyses provide evidence for the reliability of the ADES. The concurrent validity of the A-DES was studied by correlating scores on the A-DES with scores on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) in a college sample. Results showed a high correlation between scores on these two measures. Overall, results indicate that the A-DES appears to have promise as a measure of dissociation in adolescents
