Development and Preliminary Psychometric Properties of an Instrument for the Measurement of Obsessional Dissociative Experiences: The Van Obsessional Dissociation Questionnaire (VOD-Q)

• Published in: Psychiatric quarterly Vol. 89; no. 3; pp. 549 - 568
• Main Authors: Boysan, Murat, Yıldırım, Abdullah, Beşiroğlu, Lütfullah, Kefeli, Mehmet Celal, Kağan, Mücahit
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.09.2018; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Absorption; Adolescent; Adult; Amnesia; Clinical assessment; Depersonalization; Dissociation; Dissociative disorders; Dissociative Disorders - complications; Dissociative Disorders - diagnosis; Dissociative Disorders - psychology; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Female; Humans; Male; Measurement; Medical screening; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Obsessive compulsive disorder; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - complications; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology; Original Paper; Psychiatry; Psychometrics - methods; Public Health; Quantitative psychology; Questionnaires; Reproducibility of Results; Sociology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Test-Retest reliability; Young Adult; Dissociative symptoms; Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); Factor analysis; Obsessive beliefs; Dissociative model of OCD
• ISSN: 0033-2720; 1573-6709
• DOI: 10.1007/s11126-017-9555-2

A growing body of research evidence documents the substantial associations between obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and dissociation. This article describes the development and preliminary psychometric properties of the Van Obsessional Dissociation Questionnaire (VOD-Q). Obsessional dissociation is defined as a tendency to dissociate in reaction to distressing, unwanted and intrusive thoughts, images and impulses. The screening tool is conceptualized to tap obsessional dissociation across three dimensions: obsessional absorption, obsessional depersonalization/ derealization and obsessional amnesia. The VOD-Q, the Padua Inventory-Revised (PI-R), the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES), and the Obsessive Belief Questionnaire (OBQ-44) were administered in this study. The results showed that the VOD-Q had excellent test-retest reliability (ranging from 0.73 to 0.90) and internal consistency (ranging from 0.90 to 0.97). The VOD-Q total and subscale scores were significantly associated with measures of obsessive-compulsive symptoms and dissociative experiences. OCD patients scored significantly higher on the VOD-Q than community participants. Based on the present findings, the VOD-Q appears to be a reliable and valid instrument for the measurement of obsessional dissociative experiences.