Sexual assault trauma may lead to felt and being states among sexual assault survivors. Felt state is ego dystonic and transient in nature whereas being state is ego syntonic and remains frozen.

To develop and validate a scale measuring dissociative states among female sexual assault survivors.

Across two studies, 798 female sexual assault survivors were analyzed (Study 1: n = 412; Study 2: n = 386. Exploratory factor analyses (EFA) suggested a provisional multidimensional structure comprising 14 dimensions (43 items) for the felt state and 10 dimensions (33 items) for the being state. This structure is presented as an initial solution requiring independent confirmation; it was subsequently cross-validated in Study 2 using confirmatory factor analysis and compared against more parsimonious alternative models.

The convergent and discriminant validity of DSS was also tested and confirmed. Internal consistency was measured through Cronbach’s alpha(α) coefficients for both the subscales felt state (α = .86, ω = .86) and being state (α = .79, ω = .80), which indicated a satisfactory level of reliability. DSS showed a unique variance in the scores obtained from the impact of event scale beyond the contribution of anxiety and negative affect, hence indicating incremental validity. Four-week test–retest reliability was high for both subscales (felt state ICC = .84; being state ICC = .81), supporting the temporal consistency of the measure. Measurement invariance across Dalit and non-Dalit survivors was also supported, indicating that the scale functions equivalently across caste groups.

This scale is developed to measure the dissociative states of the sexual assault survivors and can prove to be a potential tool that can help the therapist to plan effective treatment for this population.