Problem. Childhood incest appears to play a role in the formation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder). This study investigated whether a relationship exists between dissociation and object-relations impairment in incest survivors and whether DID incest survivors have higher levels of these characteristics than non-DID incest survivors.
Method. The Dissociative Experience Scale, Bell Object Relations Reality Testing Inventory and Childhood Maltreatment Interview Schedule-Short Form were completed by a sample of 60 adult female incest survivor clients. 29 who met the diagnosis for DID and 31 who did not.
The Results. All three hypotheses were supported at a .05 level. A significant relationship between dissociation and object-relations impairment was found. The DID group reported significantly higher levels of dissociation and object-relations impairment than the non-DID group and higher incidences of childhood maltreatment and adult traumas. A discriminant analysis found that DID clients can be differentiated from non-DID clients based on dissociative experiences and object-relations scores. The DID group consistently reported higher incidences of childhood maltreatment, psychological abuse, and adult traumatization than the non-DID group.
Conclusions. The findings support an object-relations model for incest and suggest that personality splitting found in DID clients may be related to a developmental arrest in early-life intrapsychic splitting mechanisms described by Kemberg (1966. 1975, 1976) and others. It is possible that therapists may serve as \"transitional objects” for incest survivors with object-relations deficits. Past research has viewed incest as leading to a variety of PTSD symptoms, however some effects, especially personality splitting, may originate even before the incest occurs when very young children are exposed to harsh or psychologically overwhelming situations.
","abstract_html":"<p><em>Problem</em>. Childhood incest appears to play a role in the formation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder). This study investigated whether a relationship exists between dissociation and object-relations impairment in incest survivors and whether DID incest survivors have higher levels of these characteristics than non-DID incest survivors.</p> <p><em>Method.</em> The Dissociative Experience Scale, Bell Object Relations Reality Testing Inventory and Childhood Maltreatment Interview Schedule-Short Form were completed by a sample of 60 adult female incest survivor clients. 29 who met the diagnosis for DID and 31 who did not.</p> <p><em>The Results</em>. All three hypotheses were supported at a .05 level. A significant relationship between dissociation and object-relations impairment was found. The DID group reported significantly higher levels of dissociation and object-relations impairment than the non-DID group and higher incidences of childhood maltreatment and adult traumas. A discriminant analysis found that DID clients can be differentiated from non-DID clients based on dissociative experiences and object-relations scores. The DID group consistently reported higher incidences of childhood maltreatment, psychological abuse, and adult traumatization than the non-DID group.</p> <p><em>Conclusions</em>. The findings support an object-relations model for incest and suggest that personality splitting found in DID clients may be related to a developmental arrest in early-life intrapsychic splitting mechanisms described by Kemberg (1966. 1975, 1976) and others. It is possible that therapists may serve as "transitional objects” for incest survivors with object-relations deficits. Past research has viewed incest as leading to a variety of PTSD symptoms, however some effects, especially personality splitting, may originate even before the incest occurs when very young children are exposed to harsh or psychologically overwhelming situations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Stuppy, Linda Jean"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":"Counseling Psychology, Ph.D.","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Jimmy Kijai","Frederick A. Kosinski, Jr.","Louise Forsleff"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1996,"date_issued":"1996-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1996-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:53:44Z","subjects":["Clinical Psychology","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/720","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Jimmy Kijai","Frederick A. Kosinski, Jr.","Louise Forsleff"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Stuppy, Linda Jean"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Counseling Psychology, Ph.D."]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Philosophy"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Clinical Psychology","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/720"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Problem. Childhood incest appears to play a role in the formation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder). This study investigated whether a relationship exists between dissociation and object-relations impairment in incest survivors and whether DID incest survivors have higher levels of these characteristics than non-DID incest survivors.
Method. The Dissociative Experience Scale, Bell Object Relations Reality Testing Inventory and Childhood Maltreatment Interview Schedule-Short Form were completed by a sample of 60 adult female incest survivor clients. 29 who met the diagnosis for DID and 31 who did not.
The Results. All three hypotheses were supported at a .05 level. A significant relationship between dissociation and object-relations impairment was found. The DID group reported significantly higher levels of dissociation and object-relations impairment than the non-DID group and higher incidences of childhood maltreatment and adult traumas. A discriminant analysis found that DID clients can be differentiated from non-DID clients based on dissociative experiences and object-relations scores. The DID group consistently reported higher incidences of childhood maltreatment, psychological abuse, and adult traumatization than the non-DID group.
Conclusions. The findings support an object-relations model for incest and suggest that personality splitting found in DID clients may be related to a developmental arrest in early-life intrapsychic splitting mechanisms described by Kemberg (1966. 1975, 1976) and others. It is possible that therapists may serve as \"transitional objects” for incest survivors with object-relations deficits. Past research has viewed incest as leading to a variety of PTSD symptoms, however some effects, especially personality splitting, may originate even before the incest occurs when very young children are exposed to harsh or psychologically overwhelming situations.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["The Relationship Between Dissociation and Object-Relations Impairment in Adult Female Incest Survivor Clients with and without Personality Splitting"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Jimmy Kijai","Frederick A. Kosinski, Jr.","Louise Forsleff"],"dc:creator":["Stuppy, Linda Jean"],"dc:description.abstract":["Problem. Childhood incest appears to play a role in the formation of Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) (formerly Multiple Personality Disorder). This study investigated whether a relationship exists between dissociation and object-relations impairment in incest survivors and whether DID incest survivors have higher levels of these characteristics than non-DID incest survivors.
Method. The Dissociative Experience Scale, Bell Object Relations Reality Testing Inventory and Childhood Maltreatment Interview Schedule-Short Form were completed by a sample of 60 adult female incest survivor clients. 29 who met the diagnosis for DID and 31 who did not.
The Results. All three hypotheses were supported at a .05 level. A significant relationship between dissociation and object-relations impairment was found. The DID group reported significantly higher levels of dissociation and object-relations impairment than the non-DID group and higher incidences of childhood maltreatment and adult traumas. A discriminant analysis found that DID clients can be differentiated from non-DID clients based on dissociative experiences and object-relations scores. The DID group consistently reported higher incidences of childhood maltreatment, psychological abuse, and adult traumatization than the non-DID group.
Conclusions. The findings support an object-relations model for incest and suggest that personality splitting found in DID clients may be related to a developmental arrest in early-life intrapsychic splitting mechanisms described by Kemberg (1966. 1975, 1976) and others. It is possible that therapists may serve as \"transitional objects” for incest survivors with object-relations deficits. Past research has viewed incest as leading to a variety of PTSD symptoms, however some effects, especially personality splitting, may originate even before the incest occurs when very young children are exposed to harsh or psychologically overwhelming situations.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/720"],"dc:subject":["Clinical Psychology","Psychology"],"dc:title":["The Relationship Between Dissociation and Object-Relations Impairment in Adult Female Incest Survivor Clients with and without Personality Splitting"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Counseling Psychology, Ph.D."],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Philosophy"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T00:53:44Z"}