Background: In Ecuador, as in most Latin American countries, scientific research on trauma and dissociation is scarce. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence of potentially traumatic experiences and dissociative symptoms in adolescents and young adults who were students at the Central University in Quito, Ecuador. Methods: A cross-sectional study in which 144 students completed a self-administrated questionnaire consisting of Linköping Youth Life Experience Scale (LYLES), Adolescent-Dissociation Experience Scale (A-DES ) and background variables. Data collection was conducted in autumn 2012. Standard multiple regression analysis was used to analyse the data. Results: All students reported a history of a minimum of five potentially traumatic experiences with a mean of 14.8. Eight participants (5.6%) scored above 3.7 on the Adolescent-Dissociation Experience Scale, which is considered clinically significant dissociation. No correlation was found between high scores on LYLES and A-DES. Conclusions: The prevalence of potentially traumatic experiences in the study population is very high compared to studies conducted in high-income settings. The low prevalence of dissociation suggests high resilience in the study population but more research on morbidity is needed to draw conclusions about mental health outcomes. Further research should include study populations in less advantageous contexts.

中文翻译：

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厄瓜多尔非临床大学生群体的创伤经历和分离：一项横断面研究

背景：在厄瓜多尔，就像在大多数拉丁美洲国家中一样，关于创伤和解离的科学研究很少。这项研究的目的是检查在厄瓜多尔基多中央大学就读的青少年的潜在创伤经历和分离症状的患病率。方法：一项横断面研究，其中144名学生完成了一份自我管理的问卷，该问卷包括林雪平青年生活经验量表（LYLES），青少年离婚经历量表（A-DES）和背景变量。数据收集于2012年秋季进行。标准多元回归分析用于分析数据。结果：所有学生均报告至少有五次潜在的创伤经历，平均为14.8。8名参与者（5.6％）得分高于3。青少年离解经验量表上的第7位，被认为具有临床意义。LYLES和A-DES的高分之间未发现相关性。结论：与在高收入环境中进行的研究相比，在研究人群中潜在创伤经历的患病率很高。解离的低患病率表明研究人群具有较高的适应力，但需要更多的发病率研究来得出有关心理健康结局的结论。进一步的研究应包括不利条件下的研究人群。与在高收入环境中进行的研究相比，研究人群中潜在的创伤经历的患病率很高。解离的低患病率表明研究人群具有较高的适应力，但需要更多的发病率研究来得出有关心理健康结局的结论。进一步的研究应包括不利条件下的研究人群。与在高收入环境中进行的研究相比，研究人群中潜在的创伤经历的患病率很高。解离的低患病率表明研究人群具有较高的复原力，但需要更多的发病率研究来得出有关心理健康结局的结论。进一步的研究应包括不利条件下的研究人群。