State Intervention and Childhood Multiple Personality Disorder

Multiple personality disorder is a mental disorder caused, in part, by childhood trauma, most usually severe and sustained physical, sexual, and emotional abuse. Although the disorder is usually diagnosed in adults, evidence shows that it develops during childhood, with the first personality split typically occurring before the age of eight. Using a criterion of harm, this article argues that the diagnosis of multiple personality in a child ought serve as prima facie evidence for child abuse, even if compelling physical evidence is lacking. Medical, social, and legal problems raised by the diagnosis of childhood multiple personality disorder are discussed.