Abstract:
BACKGROUND: Dissociation is currently conceptualized as interference, interruption, and/or
discontinuity of the normal, subjective integration of potentially any aspect of experience and
cognition, including behavior, memory, identity, conscious awareness, emotion or feeling,
perception, body representation, and motor control. Studies from various countries clearly
demonstrated that dissociative disorders constitute a common mental health problem, not only in
clinical practice but also in the community as well. This study provides information regarding
prevalence of dissociative experience and related factors in Southwest Ethiopia.
OBJECTIVE: To assess prevalence of dissociative experience and related factors among Jimma
town residents, Southwest Ethiopia in 2021 G.C.
METHODS: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in Jimma town,
southwestern Ethiopia in September 2021. A structured interviewer administered questionnaire
was used to collect information regarding dissociative experience and related factors. Data were
entered to Epi-data version 4.6 and analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS) version 28. Bi-variate analysis was used to identify the factors related with dissociative
experience in the study population. Comparison of means was used and magnitude of the mean
with respective p value was used to determine the significance.
RESULTS: The lifetime experience of any dissociative symptoms among Jimma town residents
was 95.4%. The mean Dissociative experience scale (DES) score of the study population was 4.9
with standard deviation of 3.79. Residents above age 64 have mean DES score 11.47 (95% CI=
7.68-15.27) which is higher than that of adolescents’ mean DES score 3.94 (95% CI= 2.63-5.25)
and adults’ mean DES score 4.84 (95% CI= 4.54-5.13). Residents who suffered sexual abuse
have mean DES score 12.39 (95% CI= 6.03-18.75), which is much higher than those who didn’t
encounter sexual abuse mean DES score 4.81 (95% CI= 4.54-5.08).
CONCLUSION: This study showed mean DES score in general population is similar with other
community study findings. Being widowed, having sexual and physical abuse, symptoms of
severe depression was associated with having high mean DES. This screening finding implies
further study using diagnostic tools should be done and curative and preventive measures taken
