An Examination of Dissociative Symptoms As They Relate To Indigenous Filipino Concepts

In one phase of a larger study entitled Dissociation in a student sample in the Philippines (Gingrich, 2004), interviewees were asked to give their opinions about various scenarios involving dissociative symptoms, including whether they would regard specific dissociative experiences as normal or pathological.These college students were also requested to suggest indigenous terms for dissociative symptoms in Filipino languages. In order to provide a context for a discussion of these qualitative research findings, dissociation is defined, andplaced in its historical and cross-cultural context. A summary of how dissociative symptoms have generally been viewed within the Philippines is also included. The methodology used in the larger study is briefly outlined, while the procedures used to collect the data most relevant to the purposes ofthis article are more thoroughly described. Relevance of the findings for the social sciences is discussed, and recommendations for further research made.