There appear to be some similarities between posttraumatic stress disorder and the dissociative disorders in that most cases of each type of disorder are thought to result from extreme stress. How would you justify creating separate classifications for these disorders?

What will be an ideal response?

Students should demonstrate an understanding of the characteristics of each type of disorder and focus on the differences between them that justify classifying them separately. Stress plays a role in the etiology of both, but reactions to the stress experienced are quite different for the two types of disorder. Characteristic of posttraumatic stress disorder is the inability to get the traumatic experience out of mind (as demonstrated by nightmares and flashbacks).

In cases of dissociative disorders, rather than keeping the traumatic experience in mind, patients use various means to escape involvement and its attendant anxieties and conflicts. These means involve somehow altering consciousness in order to blot out the stressful experience. These cases are often traced to traumatic events in childhood, though the disorder may not appear until adulthood.