Most Surprising Finds

During my research, I found a few facts about the schizophrenia and the MPD myth that were the most interesting and surprising to me. A few articles I read pointed out the fact that there are many cultural differences centering on this fallacy. For instance, in “Dissociation or Culture Bound? A Malaysian Perspective”, the article emphasizes the fact that Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID or MPD) is believed to be a complete myth in certain Malaysian ethnicities such as the Latah and Amok (Jambunathan, 100).” People here with MPD are thought to be possessed by two demons or hypnotized by another person through witchcraft. Similarly, although not as extreme of a case, in even European countries today like Germany and Russia the term “schizophrenia” widely varies due to cultural misinterpretations of the disease (Schomerus, 780).

Other than the cultural misunderstandings of the two mental disorders, I was also surprised to find just how many people still misuse these two terms. If, “schizophrenia is probably the most misused psychological term in existence (McNally, 69)”, shouldn’t there be more motivation by the mass media to change the public’s perception of the disorder? Sadly, even up until 1980 MPD was considered rare with only 200 reported cases in the world because of the amount of misdiagnoses in the psychological field (Ross, 39). In one study conducted by two clinicians, it was found that, “just under 50% of MPD patients had a prior diagnosis of schizophrenia” in 1986. This information is baffling to me and at the same time saddening that so many patients suffering from MPD had been previously diagnosed with a completely different disorder. In fact, one of the most differentiating symptoms in schizophrenia is that people are born with it.

Resources:

Jambunathan, S., Gill, J., & Kanagsundram, S. (2008). Dissociation or Culture Bound? A Malaysian Perspective. (Cover story). Archives: The International Journal of Medicine,1(2), 100-104. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

McNally, K. (2007). Schizophrenia as split personality/Jekyll and Hyde: The origins of the informal usage in the English language.Journal of the History of the Behavioral Sciences, 43(1), 69-79. doi:10.1002 /jhbs.20209.

Schomerus, G., Kenzin, D., Borsche, J., Matschinger, H., & Angermeyer, M. (2007). The association of schizophrenia with split personality is not an ubiquitous phenomenon. Social Psychiatry & Psychiatric Epidemiology, 42(10), 780-786. doi:10.1007/s00127-007-0235-7.

Ross, Colin A. "Multiple Personality Disorder Patients with a Prior Diagnosis of Schizophrenia." Dissociation 1.2 (1988): 39-42. UO Libraries. University of Oregon. Web. 16 May 2010. .