Journal of abnormal psychology
-
The work on the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) poses many puzzling conundrums that touch on complicated and important theoretical and practical issues. None of these can be resolved in the DSM-IV, but we hope that the Task Force's decisions will be informed by thorough reviews of the currently available evidence and extensive input from all sectors of the mental health field. In this article we provide an alphabetical guide to DSM-IV conundrums that we hope will stimulate comments, suggestions, and criticisms about the work of the Task Force.
-
The 10th revision of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10; World Health Organization, 1990) and the 4th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) will both come into use in 1993 and be much more alike than the ICD-9 (World Health Organization, 1978) and the DSM-III (American Psychiatric Association, 1980). The American Psychiatric Association's controversial decision to publish a revision of the DSM-III in 1987 before setting up the Task Force to produce the DSM-IV impaired the association's ability to influence the format of the ICD-10, because by then major decisions had already been made by the World Health Organization. The DSM-IV will be more soundly based on a wider range of empirical data than any previous classification, national or international, and should not be revised again without compelling scientific reasons.