Which dissociative disorder is defined by an inability to recall important personal information, usually related to a traumatic or stressful event, that is not due to ordinary forgetfulness?

Which dissociative disorder is defined by an inability to recall important personal information, usually related to a traumatic or stressful event, that is not due to ordinary forgetfulness?

• A. Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
• B. Depersonalization/Derealization Disorder
• C. Adjustment Disorder
• D. Dissociative Amnesia

Answer: (D)

The main idea tested here is memory disruption that specifically affects personal, autobiographical information after a traumatic or stressful event. Dissociative amnesia is defined by an inability to recall important personal information that isn’t due to ordinary forgetfulness or a medical condition, and it often centers on traumatic memories. This can range from gaps around a particular event to more widespread lapses in identity and life history, and it may occur with dissociative fugue, where a person travels or presents amnesia for who they are. Post-traumatic stress disorder involves re-experiencing the trauma, avoidance, negative mood changes, and heightened arousal rather than a primary memory-block for personal history. Depersonalization/derealization disorder centers on a subjective sense of unreality or detachment from self or surroundings, not on forgetting personal facts. Adjustment disorder is about emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to a stressor, without a focal memory loss about personal information. So the description of an inability to recall important personal information related to a traumatic event best fits dissociative amnesia.

The main idea tested here is memory disruption that specifically affects personal, autobiographical information after a traumatic or stressful event. Dissociative amnesia is defined by an inability to recall important personal information that isn’t due to ordinary forgetfulness or a medical condition, and it often centers on traumatic memories. This can range from gaps around a particular event to more widespread lapses in identity and life history, and it may occur with dissociative fugue, where a person travels or presents amnesia for who they are.

Post-traumatic stress disorder involves re-experiencing the trauma, avoidance, negative mood changes, and heightened arousal rather than a primary memory-block for personal history. Depersonalization/derealization disorder centers on a subjective sense of unreality or detachment from self or surroundings, not on forgetting personal facts. Adjustment disorder is about emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to a stressor, without a focal memory loss about personal information.

So the description of an inability to recall important personal information related to a traumatic event best fits dissociative amnesia.