Dissociative disorders are psychiatric disorders that involve disruptions or breakdowns of memory, awareness, identity and/or perception usually in response to severe trauma.

People with dissociative disorders chronically escape their reality in involuntary, unhealthy ways ranging from suppressing memories to assuming alternate identities. The patterns of dissociative disorders usually develop as a reaction to trauma and function to keep difficult memories at bay. Up to 7 percent of the U.S. population may experience a dissociative disorder in their lifetime.

The dissociative disorders most often form in children subjected to chronic physical, sexual or emotional abuse or, less frequently, a home environment that is otherwise frightening or highly unpredictable.

Personal identity is still forming during childhood, and during these malleable years a child is more able than is an adult to step outside herself or himself and observe trauma as though it's happening to a different person. A child who learns to dissociate in order to endure an extended period of his or her youth may reflexively use this coping mechanism in response to stressful situations throughout life.

Children and adults who experience other traumatic events, including war, natural disasters, kidnapping, torture and invasive medical procedures also may develop these conditions. However, it rare that adults may develop dissociative disorders in response to severe trauma.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), widely accepted as a major mental illness affecting 8% of the general population in the United States, is closely related to Dissociative Disorders. In fact, 80-100% of people diagnosed with a Dissociative Disorder also have a secondary diagnosis of PTSD. The personal and societal cost of trauma disorders is extremely high. Recent research suggests the risk of suicide attempts among people with trauma disorders may be even higher than among people who have major depression. In addition, there is evidence that people with trauma disorders have higher rates of alcoholism, chronic medical illnesses, and abusiveness in succeeding generations.

Sources:
Merck Manual
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM IV)
Sidran Foundation

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