| Prevalence |
The prevalence rate for DID is difficult to determine, although several surveys estimate it to be about 1% (Johnson, Cohen, et al., 2006a; Loewenstein, 1994). However, some researchers view this figure as a significant overestimate (Rifkin et al., 1998). |
| Comorbidity |
People with DID may also be diagnosed with a mood disorder, an anxiety disorder, a substance-related disorder, PTSD, or a personality disorder (to be discussed in Chapter 13). DID may be difficult to distinguish from schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. |
| Onset |
It can take years to make the diagnosis of DID from the time that symptoms first emerge. Because of this long lag time and the rarity of the disorder, there is no accurate information about the usual age of onset. |
| Course |
DID is usually chronic. |
| Gender Differences |
This disorder is equally prevalent in males and females. |
| Cultural Differences |
DID is observed only in some Western cultures and was extremely uncommon before the 1976 television movie Sybil, which was about a “true case” of what was then called multiple personality disorder (Kihlstrom, 2001; Lilienfeld et al., 1999). |
| Source: Unless otherwise noted, the source is American Psychiatric Association, 2013. |