Causes of Dissociative Identity Disorder

As far as the causes or factors behind dissociative identity disorder are concerned there is no proven or specific cause has been acknowledged yet. Various researches show various results pointing towards different causes to develop multiple personalities in one person. These causes can include childhood trauma, severe sexual or physical abuse or family history of split personalities etc.       

1- Childhood Traumatic Experience

First of all any past tragic experience of childhood is considered a main factor behind dissociative identity disorder. Such traumatic experiences lead to the development of multiple personalities in victimized person in response to childhood tragedies. It’s a kind of automatic response towards cruelties inflicted and their impact over person’s memory which results in expressing itself in a disguise of a different identity. In most cases the person himself remains unaware of this newly developed identity in himself until certain actions done by different personality or different identities are proved by a number of people living around them.           

2- Sexual or Physical Abuse

Secondly severe abusive attitude sexual or physical may lead to the development of split personalities. In such cases another identity is born inside victimized person to safe the actual identity against abusive behavior meted out by someone. This new identity is often opposite to the actual identity in its temperament and emotional expression. Being the creation of abusive and cruel behavior such identity shows aggressive nature. In a number of movies produced on the issue of split personalities such second aggressive personality often kills or try to kill the person caused such abusive behavior against the actual identity. Therefore sexual or physical abuse is considered one of the important factors leading to the development of multiple personalities.           

3- Family History with DID

In the end when no traces of traumatic past experience or sexual or physical abuse are found then research can turn its focus towards hereditary factor. Persons with family history of split personalities are more likely to develop it at any stage of life as compared to general population. But hereditary factor only enhances the probability of developing dissociative identity disorder in a person. It means that we cannot say that split personalities is a psychological problem run in families or hereditary in nature like some other psychological disorder. Family history is just considered a possibility to develop it in some persons not an imperative factor behind multiple personality disorder.                

Though behind most of the cases of multiple personalities one of these causes were found responsible but still there are many cases of DID in which no such factor found and no other reason seems to be causing such complicated psychological condition. Therefore it can be said that all factors or causes resulting in creating split personalities in one person are still unknown.