Chapter 5. Further Discussions on the “Relational stress” (1)

In this chapter I will further discuss the notion of the “relational stress” that I have been proposing since my previous works. As I discussed in the Chapter 4, this theory originated from my belief that dissociative pathology can occur in a covert stressful relationship with parental figures in the patients’ childhood. I would like to examine whether similar ideas have been proposed by any authors in the past literature. To start with, I will review some theories on the origin of dissociative disorder by several main authors.
First, Richard Kluft’s 4 factor theories (Kluft, 1986). Kluft states that if the following four factors are present, then likelihood of developing DID is high. 1. A biological capacity for dissociation. 2. A history of trauma or abuse. 3. Specific psychological structures or contents that can be used in the creation of alternate personalities. 4. A lack of adequate nurturing or opportunities to recover from abuse.
The 1st factor has to do with the individual’s innate capacity to dissociate. 2nd factor is practically considered as the “interpersonal trauma”. 3rd factor is not easy to grasp but it basically involves many factors determining the way the dissociation occurs. The 4th factor is a protective environment.
Kluft’s theory is clear and straightforward. The only type of traumatic event involved in his theory is overt interpersonal trauma and nothing else appears to be proposed.
Next we examine Braun and Sachs’ “three P model” （Braun & Sachs, 1985）. This model states that there needs to be predisposing, precipitating and perpetuating factors for the formation of DID pathology. The predisposing factor involves the individual’s capacity to dissociate and good working memories. Precipitating factor involves interpersonal abuse, without mention of any covert or subtle stressful relationship.