External factors that could lead to dissociation in young people

Everyday stress, loneliness, and feelings of exclusion or marginalization have been highlighted as the biggest risk factors, along with childhood trauma, for contributing to dissociation in teenagers and young adults, a new study has revealed. The findings challenge traditional perceptions of dissociation and highlight the pressures on young people today.

The research analyzed data from 2,384 young people (aged 16-25) in the UK to better understand which factors put some young people at higher risk of experiencing clinical levels of dissociation than others.

Using machine learning, the team identified patterns and high-risk groups within the data leading to four key risk factors that were most predictive of clinical levels of dissociation. Everyday stress was most significant, followed by childhood trauma, loneliness and marginalization.

What the researchers say: “Dissociation has traditionally been dismissed as ‘just’ another symptom of trauma,” the lead author said. “This data demonstrates that dissociation and its triggers are complex and linked not only to trauma, but also to young people’s experiences of themselves and the way the world is treating them.”

Different age groups were also shown to have different risks. Younger participants aged 16-20 were more affected by dissociation if they also had negative self-image and depression, while those aged 21-25 struggled more if they also had anxiety and difficulty managing emotions.

“It suggests many young people experiencing significant levels of dissociation are also living with multiple interacting forms of stress,” she continued. “They might be surviving the impact of trauma, trying to find acceptance among peers or even wider society, learning to understand themselves and their own internal worlds, and dealing with a lot of stress in their daily lives on top of it all. This data backs up what many of my clients tell me in the therapy room: that dissociation usually happens when they have reached full capacity for stress.

“Dissociation is currently hugely under recognized in medical care but deserves to be a focus of mental health work. The insights provided by this research could support outreach efforts by helping to identify young people who are at higher risk of experiencing dissociation. Or it could be used to ensure healthcare professionals proactively ask about dissociation when meeting with a young person who matches the ‘at risk’ profile, leading to better assessment, prevention and support for those affected.”

My take: In a sense the findings of this study could apply to almost any human living today. We are operating in an environment that we were not designed to cope with. We are all, to some extent traumatized. Sometimes the stresses we face are relatively ‘minor’ in themselves, but their total effect can be substantial.

Take a few simple, but neglected examples. A number of studies have shown that humans are not designed to live or work at elevations higher than a high savannah tree—say five stories. The higher the elevation beyond that the greater the stress. Stressors such as this can be there, affecting our lives and our emotions on a completely subconscious level

Again, we are not designed to look out on straight lines—no natural environment has naturally straight lines—so modern tower blocks with their straight lines of windows add to our stress.

We are not designed to communicate at a distance—outside of the range of all our senses (touch sent, hearing, sight)—so smart phones, email and even telephones add to our stress, increase our sense of isolation and our level of distrust.

Any, and all the ways we try to cope with conditions that we were not designed for, are stressors which can lead to the same problems that the present researchers have identified in young people.