Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) Case Study

Instructions

Answer the following 4 questions in your own words:

1. There continues to be controversy over whether DID actually exists. Do you believe it is possible for some people to have several different personalities that may or may not be aware of each other? Why or why not?

2. DID has been used as a legal defense in murder trials (i.e., the person committed the murder under an “alter” personality and was arguably unaware of the crime, therefore not responsible for it). Do you think DID can be a credible and viable defense in some legal cases? If someone, in fact, had DID at the time he or she committed a serious crime, should he or she be held accountable for those actions? Do you think it is possible for some defendants to convincingly fake the symptoms of DID?

3. What factors do you think account for the finding that DID is much more common in females than in males? 4. Most cases of DID begin in the same fashion as cases of PTSD – exposure to extremely stressful or traumatic events such as sexual or physical abuse. What factors do you believe account for exposure to trauma manifesting as DID in some cases and PTSD in others?