U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Format

Send to:

Choose Destination

Multiple personality disorder

MedGen UID:
44520
•Concept ID:
C0026773
•
Mental or Behavioral Dysfunction
Synonyms: Disorder, Dissociative Identity; Disorder, Multiple Identity; Disorder, Multiple Personality; Dissociative Identity Disorder; Identity Disorder, Dissociative; Identity Disorder, Multiple; Multiple Identity Disorder; Multiple Identity Disorders; Multiple Personalities; Multiple Personality; Multiple Personality Disorder; Multiple Personality Disorders; Personalities, Multiple; Personality Disorder, Multiple; Personality Disorders, Multiple; Personality, Multiple
SNOMED CT: Multiple personality disorder (31611000); Dissociative identity disorder (31611000)
 
Monarch Initiative: MONDO:0001159

Definition

A disorder characterized by the presence of two or more identities with distinct patterns of perception and personality which recurrently take control of the person''s behavior; this is accompanied by a retrospective gap in memory of important personal information that far exceeds ordinary forgetfulness. The changes in identity are not due to substance use or to a general medical condition. [from NCI]

Term Hierarchy

CClinical test,  RResearch test,  OOMIM,  GGeneReviews,  VClinVar  
  • CROGVMultiple personality disorder

Professional guidelines

PubMed

Treatment for multiple personality disorder: at what cost?
Piper A Jr
Am J Psychother 1994 Summer;48(3):392-400. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.1994.48.3.392. PMID: 7992870
Considerations and techniques in the treatment of persons with multiple personality disorder.
Fike ML
Am J Occup Ther 1990 Nov;44(11):999-1007. doi: 10.5014/ajot.44.11.999. PMID: 2252074
Child abuse and multiple personality disorder: review of the literature and suggestions for treatment.
Coons PM
Child Abuse Negl 1986;10(4):455-62. doi: 10.1016/0145-2134(86)90049-9. PMID: 3539264

Recent clinical studies

Etiology

Should conversion disorder be reclassified as a dissociative disorder in DSM V?
Brown RJ, Cardeña E, Nijenhuis E, Sar V, van der Hart O
Psychosomatics 2007 Sep-Oct;48(5):369-78. doi: 10.1176/appi.psy.48.5.369. PMID: 17878494
Dissociation: the clinical realities.
Frankel FH
Am J Psychiatry 1996 Jul;153(7 Suppl):64-70. doi: 10.1176/ajp.153.7.64. PMID: 8659642
Long-term consequences of childhood physical and sexual abuse.
Glod CA
Arch Psychiatr Nurs 1993 Jun;7(3):163-73. doi: 10.1016/0883-9417(93)90043-v. PMID: 8373264
The comorbidity of multiple personality disorder and DSM-III-R axis II disorders.
Fink D
Psychiatr Clin North Am 1991 Sep;14(3):547-66. PMID: 1946024
Art and multiple personality disorder: an expressive framework for occupational therapy.
Frye B
Am J Occup Ther 1990 Nov;44(11):1013-22. doi: 10.5014/ajot.44.11.1013. PMID: 2252061

Diagnosis

Dissociative disorders.
Kihlstrom JF
Annu Rev Clin Psychol 2005;1:227-53. doi: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143925. PMID: 17716088
Dissociative identity disorder: a literature review.
McAllister MM
J Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs 2000 Jan;7(1):25-33. doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2850.2000.00259.x. PMID: 11022508
Multiple personality disorder.
Salama AA
J Med Assoc Ga 1995 Feb;84(2):75-9. PMID: 7891008
Multiple personality disorder.
Piper A Jr
Br J Psychiatry 1994 May;164(5):600-12. doi: 10.1192/bjp.164.5.600. PMID: 7921709
Multiple personality disorder: an overview.
Braun BG
Am J Occup Ther 1990 Nov;44(11):971-6. doi: 10.5014/ajot.44.11.971. PMID: 2252069

Therapy

Dissociative processes, multiple personality, and dream functions.
Bob P
Am J Psychother 2004;58(2):139-49. doi: 10.1176/appi.psychotherapy.2004.58.2.139. PMID: 15373277
One brain, two selves.
Reinders AA, Nijenhuis ER, Paans AM, Korf J, Willemsen AT, den Boer JA
Neuroimage 2003 Dec;20(4):2119-25. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2003.08.021. PMID: 14683715
Multiple personality disorder in criminal law.
Steinberg M, Bancroft J, Buchanan J
Bull Am Acad Psychiatry Law 1993;21(3):345-56. PMID: 8148515
Treatment of multiple personality disorder: a survey of current practices.
Putnam FW, Loewenstein RJ
Am J Psychiatry 1993 Jul;150(7):1048-52. doi: 10.1176/ajp.150.7.1048. PMID: 8100401
Multiple personality disorder in Switzerland.
Modestin J
Am J Psychiatry 1992 Jan;149(1):88-92. doi: 10.1176/ajp.149.1.88. PMID: 1728191

Prognosis

Current perspectives on multiple personality disorder.
Coté I
Hosp Community Psychiatry 1994 Aug;45(8):827-9. doi: 10.1176/ps.45.8.827. PMID: 7982703
A review of dissociation and dissociative disorders.
Atchison M, McFarlane AC
Aust N Z J Psychiatry 1994 Dec;28(4):591-9. doi: 10.1080/00048679409080782. PMID: 7794202
Trauma and dissociation.
Classen C, Koopman C, Spiegel D
Bull Menninger Clin 1993 Spring;57(2):178-94. PMID: 8508155
Multiple personality disorder: an overview.
Braun BG
Am J Occup Ther 1990 Nov;44(11):971-6. doi: 10.5014/ajot.44.11.971. PMID: 2252069
An update on multiple personality disorder.
Kluft RP
Hosp Community Psychiatry 1987 Apr;38(4):363-73. doi: 10.1176/ps.38.4.363. PMID: 3552929

Clinical prediction guides

Assessing malingering and personality styles in dissociative identity disorder: a case study.
Lanfranco RC, Martínez-Aguayo JC, Arancibia M
Neurocase 2023 Oct;29(5):141-150. Epub 2024 May 4 doi: 10.1080/13554794.2024.2348218. PMID: 38704614
Dissociation: the clinical realities.
Frankel FH
Am J Psychiatry 1996 Jul;153(7 Suppl):64-70. doi: 10.1176/ajp.153.7.64. PMID: 8659642
Trauma and dissociation.
Classen C, Koopman C, Spiegel D
Bull Menninger Clin 1993 Spring;57(2):178-94. PMID: 8508155
Recent research on multiple personality disorder.
Putnam FW
Psychiatr Clin North Am 1991 Sep;14(3):489-502. PMID: 1946019
Art and multiple personality disorder: an expressive framework for occupational therapy.
Frye B
Am J Occup Ther 1990 Nov;44(11):1013-22. doi: 10.5014/ajot.44.11.1013. PMID: 2252061

Supplemental Content

Table of contents

    Clinical resources

    Practice guidelines

    • PubMed
      See practice and clinical guidelines in PubMed. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.
    • Bookshelf
      See practice and clinical guidelines in NCBI Bookshelf. The search results may include broader topics and may not capture all published guidelines. See the FAQ for details.

    Consumer resources

    Reviews

    Related information

    • MeSH
      Related Medical Subject Headings
    • PMC Articles
      Related information in PubMed Central Links
    • PubMed
      Related literature resources in PubMed

    Recent activity

    Clear Turn Off Turn On

    Your browsing activity is empty.

    Activity recording is turned off.

    Turn recording back on

    See more...