March 5 is National Multiple Personality Day, a day in which the disorder is given countrywide recognition. Generally unknown or misunderstood, Multiple Personality Disorder, or Dissociative Identity Disorder, is defined by Psychology Today as “a severe condition in which two or more distinct identities, or personality states, are present in—and alternately take control of—an individual. Some people describe this as an experience of possession. The person also experiences memory loss that is too extensive to be explained by ordinary forgetfulness.” Despite its name, psychologists describe the disease as one that is a fragmentation of personality, as opposed to completely separate personalities.
Dissociative Identity Disorder Statistics
The disease may be more common than previously thought. Healthy Place, an online Dissociative Identity Disorder Community, suggests that the disease is more common in psychiatric patients, people who have been abused in childhood and people who suffer from substance abuse issues than it is in the general population.
The Website also lists several facts:
- Dissociation is present in all races but is more common in American children.
- Females experience more childhood abuse than males, at a ratio of 10:1, and thus more females suffer from DID.
- However, more males who have been abused may experience pathological dissociation.
- Dissociative identity disorder is typically caused by trauma occurring at less than nine years of age.
- Early age of abuse onset predicts a greater degree of dissociation.
- The average number of alternate personalities a person with DID has is between eight and 13, but there have been cases reported of more than 100 personalities within one individual.
Mental Health in the Prison Population
A study done about a decade ago shows that in prisons, an estimated 60 percent of inmates may have mental health issues, including Dissociative Identity Disorder. Unfortunately, the resources aren’t available for most of them to get more than cursory treatment while incarcerated, especially those in private prisons. And, because of the nature of the prison population, HIPAA laws and other considerations, statistics are difficult to accurately come by.
However, of those available, an NPR report from July 15, 2015, suggests that one in four police shootings involve the mentally ill.
The Boston Globe reported in 2016 that while the recidivism rate for all former inmates is 30 percent, the rate of recidivism for those with mental illness jumps to 37 percent. A Slate report showed that in 2014, 10 times as many mentally ill individuals were in prison or jail as in state psychiatric hospitals, and “in 2012, approximately 356,268 inmates with severe mental illness were in prisons and jails, while about 35,000 severely ill patients were in state psychiatric hospitals.”
Everyone deserves fair treatment and due process of law, especially those incapable of defending themselves or those who prove incapable of making rational or logical decisions. While efforts are underway to improve conditions in the criminal justice system, the outcomes so far have been far from positive, which is why days like National Multiple Personality Day prove vital in raising public awareness of not only this disease but many others that are often ignored or overlooked, especially among inmates in jails and prisons.
Treatments are available for DID and have proven effective in many cases. Awareness leads to preventative care, which can hopefully reduce the odds of mentally ill individuals’ committing crimes and landing in the system. What awareness can also do is hopefully pressure those in charge to address mental health issues in prison or jail populations, allowing more access to mental health professionals, reducing sentences and making sure that when mentally ill inmates are released, they continue to get the help they need.
If you (or a loved one) have been arrested in Kentucky or in the Lexington area in particular, call my office at (859) 685-1055 for a free consultation. Our lawyers specialize in helping defendants fight back on assault charges, misdemeanors, domestic violence, property crimes, drug charges and more, call today.