Growing up in a cross-cultural missions context exposes children to some unique psychological stressors. The present article explores the manner through which these stressors may increase vulnerability to the development of a dissociative adjustment in missionary kids (MKs) exposed to significant trauma. Five cases of dissociative disorder among adult MKs were investigated for the reported prevalence of abusive and unique missions-related stress. The case analyses indicate that dissociative disorders can be found within the adult MK population. Furthermore, exposure to some unique missions stressors appeared to be associated with the occurrence of a dissociative disorder in this sample, although determination of the nature and degree of this relationship awaits controlled research.
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