Unpacking the depersonalization syndrome: an exploratory factor analysis on the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale

Depersonalization symptoms cluster into four distinct but related domains rather than forming a single syndrome. An analysis of responses to the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale from 138 patients diagnosed with depersonalization disorder identified four factors that together account for 73.3% of the variance: anomalous body experience, emotional numbing, anomalous subjective recall, and alienation from surroundings. This suggests that depersonalization is not a unitary condition but comprises separable psychopathological dimensions.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Background. Depersonalization has long been considered a syndrome but there is poor agreement on its constituent symptoms.Method. In order to establish whether different symptoms of depersonalization represent the expression of a single or several underlying dimensions, an exploratory factor analysis on the Cambridge Depersonalization Scale (CDS) was carried out on 138 consecutive patients diagnosed with depersonalization disorder.Results. Four well determined factors accounting for 73·3% of the variance were extracted. These were labelled ‘Anomalous Body Experience’; ‘Emotional Numbing’; ‘Anomalous Subjective Recall’ and ‘Alienation from Surroundings’.Conclusions. Symptoms of depersonalization belong to distinct but related psychopathological domains.