What is the science behind dissociative identity disorder?

A growing body of neuroimaging research suggests that dissociative identity disorder is associated with changes in a number of brain regions involved in attention, memory, and emotions.

Is there a genetic component to dissociative identity disorder?

Dissociative identity disorder does not happen in a vacuum: it does not result from a chemical imbalance in the brain, and is not caused by faulty genes. There may be biological, social and environmental factors which increase people’s vulnerability to developing a dissociative disorder.

Is dissociative identity disorder (DID) genetic?

Biological Perspective: Dissociative Identity Disorder can be caused if first-degree relatives have received a diagnosis of DID. Dissociative behavioral correlations of r = 0.21 for fraternal twins and r = 0.60 for identical twins suggests the presence of a genetic effect.

Is there a link between early-childhood trauma and dissociative identity disorder?

While Putnam et al noted that 97\% of patients with dissociative identity disorder reported a history of abuse, part of the controversy of DID, however, is that some clinicians claim that there is not a direct enough association between early-childhood trauma and dissociative identity disorder due to the bias in self-reporting.

Why did the DSM change the name of multiple personality disorder?

Re-classifications. In 1994, the fourth edition of the DSM replaced the criteria again and changed the name of the condition from “multiple personality disorder” to the current “dissociative identity disorder” to emphasize the importance of changes to consciousness and identity rather than personality.

Why do some people alternate between different identities?

Someone can LEARN to alternate between different identities in order to avoid remembering times of trauma or stress. This would cause that someone to no longer feel stress and continue alternating identities.