ABSTRACT
Dissociation has been described as a psychological “gift” to children exposed to severe traumatic events such as emotional, physical, and sexual abuse or experiencing or witnessing severe injuries (Sutton, 2004). The term refers to “a psychological mechanism that allows the mind or body to split off or compartmentalize traumatic experiences or disquieting thoughts from normal consciousness” (Sutton, p. 24). Although the propensity to dissociate in childhood varies (Irwin, 1994), it is considered a normal developmental process of childhood imagination. Intense “pretending” where the child enters fully into an altered state of consciousness is typical in imaginative play (Shirar, 1996). Dissociative experiences are very common (Ross, Joshi, & Currie, 1990) but most prevalent among children up to about age 10 years (Putnam, 1991). There is general consensus that normative dissociation tends to peak in late childhood or early adolescence and then to steadily decline through adolescence into early adulthood (Putnam, Hornstein, & Peterson, 1996; Wallach & Dollinger, 1999 (review)).
