Previous research on the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) has demonstrated that (a) dissociation is quantifiable in both clinical and nonclinical samples and (b) a three-factor structure (amnesia, depersonalization, and absorption) is tenable for clinical samples. The factor structure for nonclinical samples is less clear, with one- and multiple-factor solutions proposed. To clarify the DES factor structure in nonclinical samples, confirmatory factor analyses were conducted on (a) one-, two-, three-, and four-factor first-order models and (b) two bifactor (hierarchical) models of DES scores for two samples of nonclinical university students. Results ofΔχ2and goodness-of-fit indices support the three-factor (first-order) model as best fitting of the data for these samples. The utility of this DES model for screening both dissociative pathology and elevated normal dissociative behavior in clinical and nonclinical populations is discussed.
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