Diagnosis

Abstract

The disorders covered in this text are defined according to the diagnostic criteria presented in the revised, 3rd edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III-R) (American Psychiatric Association, 1987). The DSM-III-R and its predecessor, the DSM-III, are widely accepted in North America as the standard classification system for mental disorders. The DSM system is referred to routinely in most books on abnormal psychology as well as in works dealing with the treatment of these areas from a variety of different perspectives.¹ As the author of one textbook puts it, “The reason for using the DSM-III criteria for disorders is simple: The vast majority of clinicians—regardless of their professional identity as psychologists, social workers, or psychiatrists—use DSM-III as their classification system” (Mehr, 1983, p. 97). Although the system is American rather than international in scope, several issues concerning its use warrant discussion, particularly since the questions they raise provide a basis for understanding why a book on the physiological factors in these disorders was written in the first place. (See Panel 1.1, “A Note on Terminology.”)