ABSTRACT

The study of dissociative reactions around the time of trauma (peritraumatic dissociation or PD) and their potential contribution to short- and long-term dysfunction took off as a systematic area of inquiry about 30 years ago. In this chapter, we discuss the concepts of dissociation and PD, various approaches to measuring PD, and review research examining possible relations between PD and various physiological measures. We examine how dissociation is captured in both acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder, noting the evolution, controversies, and lack of consistency regarding how dissociative phenomena are reflected within and across these diagnoses. This is followed by a summary of the literature on retrospective and prospective studies examining PD as a predictor of posttraumatic diagnoses with both adult and young samples. Finally, we review research examining mediators and moderators of the effects of PD on psychopathology, conclude that consideration of PD has deepened our understanding of at least certain types of posttraumatic pathology, and provide suggestions for future research.