Measuring the Dissociative Face of PTSD in a War-Exposed Population: Ukrainian DSPS Validation
- Ukrainian DSPS validated in 1,119 trauma-exposed individuals — the largest DSPS validation study to date and the first in an active war zone
- Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the 3-factor structure: derealization/depersonalization, loss of awareness, and psychogenic amnesia (acceptable model fit)
- Internal consistency high: Cronbach's α = 0.83–0.87 for both lifetime and current severity scales
- Convergent validity confirmed: significant correlations with PTSD, depression, anxiety, and somatic symptom measures in expected ranges
The DSM-5 dissociative subtype of PTSD was added to capture patients who experience not just re-experiencing and avoidance, but derealization and depersonalization layered on top. The DSPS was designed to measure exactly that. But until now, it had never been validated in a language or context where it arguably matters most: a population living through ongoing armed conflict.
The scale and its structure
The DSPS assesses three clusters of dissociative symptoms as they co-occur with PTSD: derealization/depersonalization (the classic "this is not real" / "this is not me" experiences), loss of awareness (gaps in conscious processing during distressing events), and psychogenic amnesia (inability to recall traumatic experiences despite encoding).
The Ukrainian adaptation by Kurapov et al. (University of Salzburg and Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv) recruited 1,119 participants through convenience and snowball sampling — a substantial sample for a validation study, and recruited during active conflict. The CFA confirmed that the three-factor model holds in this population, and reliability coefficients (α = 0.83–0.87) are on par with or exceeding the original English version.
Why this matters beyond Ukraine
War-related trauma systematically produces higher rates of dissociative PTSD than single-event civilian trauma. The Ukrainian validation creates a tool for the largest European conflict since 1945 — but the clinical implications extend further. Any practitioner working with refugees and displaced populations from this conflict now has a validated instrument in the patients' native language. The scale distinguishes dissociative PTSD from standard PTSD presentations, which matters for treatment planning: dissociative patients may need stabilization-focused phase work before exposure therapy.
For your practice
If you work with Ukrainian refugees or trauma-exposed populations from the conflict zone: the DSPS is now available and validated in Ukrainian. Screen for the dissociative subtype — it changes your treatment sequence. If you do not work with this population directly, the methodological lesson still applies: dissociative PTSD is underdetected precisely because standard PTSD measures do not capture it. The DSPS takes 5–10 minutes. Adding it to your trauma assessment battery closes a diagnostic gap.
The dissociative subtype of PTSD hides behind standard measures — this scale was built to find it, and now it speaks Ukrainian.
Convenience and snowball sampling limits generalizability within Ukraine. Online-only administration excluded populations without internet access — a significant concern in a war zone. No test-retest reliability data. Cross-cultural equivalence with the original English DSPS not directly assessed.