Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is defined as which of the following?

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID) is defined as which of the following?

• A. Two or more distinct personalities within one body
• B. A single, stable personality with memory gaps
• C. A transient psychotic episode lasting less than a day
• D. A persistent fear of enclosed spaces.

Answer: (A)

DID is characterized by two or more distinct identities or personality states that take control of a person’s behavior, with recurrent gaps in recall of everyday events, personal information, or traumatic memories. This description matches the option describing two or more distinct personalities within one body, which captures the core feature of the disorder: multiple identities that alternate control and dissociative amnesia between them. The other descriptions don’t fit DID. Having a single stable personality with memory gaps points away from DID, since DID involves multiple identities rather than a single one. A transient psychotic episode lasting less than a day refers to a brief psychotic disorder, not a dissociative condition. A persistent fear of enclosed spaces is claustrophobia, an anxiety disorder, not related to dissociative identity. DID is a dissociative disorder often linked to early life trauma, with identities that may have distinct patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.

DID is characterized by two or more distinct identities or personality states that take control of a person’s behavior, with recurrent gaps in recall of everyday events, personal information, or traumatic memories. This description matches the option describing two or more distinct personalities within one body, which captures the core feature of the disorder: multiple identities that alternate control and dissociative amnesia between them.

The other descriptions don’t fit DID. Having a single stable personality with memory gaps points away from DID, since DID involves multiple identities rather than a single one. A transient psychotic episode lasting less than a day refers to a brief psychotic disorder, not a dissociative condition. A persistent fear of enclosed spaces is claustrophobia, an anxiety disorder, not related to dissociative identity. DID is a dissociative disorder often linked to early life trauma, with identities that may have distinct patterns of thinking, feeling, and behaving.