Which disorder is characterized by two or more distinct and alternating personalities?

Which disorder is characterized by two or more distinct and alternating personalities?

• A. Dissociative identity disorder
• B. Distress
• C. Feeding and eating disorders
• D. Flat affect

Answer: (A)

Dissociative Identity Disorder involves two or more distinct personality states that alternate for control of behavior. These separate identities may have their own memories, ways of thinking, and patterns of behavior, and a person often experiences gaps in recall for everyday events or personal information. This condition is typically linked to severe early-life trauma, and the diagnosis in DSM-5 requires a disruption of identity with multiple distinct states and recurrent gaps in memory. The idea of alternating personalities is the hallmark that makes this disorder fit the description. The other options don’t describe this pattern: distress is a general symptom category, not a specific disorder; feeding and eating disorders focus on disordered eating behaviors and body weight, not multiple identities; flat affect refers to a lack of emotional expressiveness, not alternating personality states.

Dissociative Identity Disorder involves two or more distinct personality states that alternate for control of behavior. These separate identities may have their own memories, ways of thinking, and patterns of behavior, and a person often experiences gaps in recall for everyday events or personal information. This condition is typically linked to severe early-life trauma, and the diagnosis in DSM-5 requires a disruption of identity with multiple distinct states and recurrent gaps in memory. The idea of alternating personalities is the hallmark that makes this disorder fit the description.

The other options don’t describe this pattern: distress is a general symptom category, not a specific disorder; feeding and eating disorders focus on disordered eating behaviors and body weight, not multiple identities; flat affect refers to a lack of emotional expressiveness, not alternating personality states.