The critical reception of the DSM-5: Towards a typology of audiences

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (8) ◽  
pp. 932-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Roy ◽  
Marie-Pier Rivest ◽  
Dahlia Namian ◽  
Nicolas Moreau

Since its initial publication, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders has been the object of criticism which has led to regular revisions by the American Psychiatric Association. This article analyses the debates that surrounded the publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.). Building on the concepts of public arenas and reception theory, it explores the meaning encoded in the manual by audiences. Our results, which draw from a thematic analysis of traditional and digital media sources, identify eight audiences that react to the American Psychiatric Association’s narrative of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.): conformist, reformist, humanist, culturalist, naturalist, conflictual, constructivist and utilitarian. While some of their claims present argumentative polarities, others overlap, thus challenging the idea, often presented in academic publications, of a fixed debate. In order to further discuss on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, we draw attention to claims that ‘travel’ across different communities of audiences.

2015 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 109-124 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ester Holte Kofod

Grief is sometimes poetically described as the price of love: An inescapable existential condition of human life. However, throughout the 20th century, grief has increasingly come to be understood as a pathological condition that requires psychological and/or medical intervention. With the release ofDiagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders(5th ed.,DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013), grief came close to being included as a separate mental disorder. However, the diagnostic revisions concerning bereavement have been met with criticism of medicalizing grief and of exceeding the territory of psychiatry beyond its legitimate borders. On this basis, I argue that grief is currently a border diagnosis, that is, a condition whose meanings are informed in heterogeneous ways by medical, psychiatric, and psychological understandings yet constantly challenged by alternative, nonmedicalizing discourses. Drawing on empirical findings from an ongoing interview study with bereaved parents after infant loss, I analyze and discuss 4 different accounts concerning the question of diagnosing grief: (a) diagnosis as a legitimating and normalizing practice, (b) diagnosis as a demarcation practice, (c) diagnosis as pathologization, and (d) diagnosis as a normative ideal. Through the examples, I attempt to demonstrate how bereaved individuals do not merely passively adopt but reflectively use these kinds of understandings to deal with their grief.


Author(s):  
Janet B. W. Williams ◽  
Michael First

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders of the American Psychiatric Association is referred to as DSM-5™. DSM-5’s early predecessor, DSM-III, differed considerably from the first two editions. Its innovative incorporation of specified diagnostic criteria had a major impact on the field of mental health. In DSM-5, these criteria have been further updated to reflect the important gains in our understanding of mental disorders.


Author(s):  
Ειρήνη Μούτσου ◽  
Ευγενία Γεωργάκα

The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- 5) was released by the American Psychiatric Association in May 2013 and has provoked a broad scientific discussion, since it entails significant changes in relation to its previous editions. The current paper offers a review of this discussion, with emphasis on the main changes that are under dispute. Initially, we discuss the developmental course of the various editions of the DSM, the main principles and practices of the current edition as well as the main points of critique against it. We then examine in more detail some significant changes in particular diagnostic categories and their expected implications for the diagnosis and treatment of these mental disorders. In conclusion, the main critique against DSM-5 is that it seems to intensify the medicalisation of mental disorders, which characterises its latest editions, to pathologise a range of everyday experiences and behaviours, and to broaden the diagnosed population, especially to children and the elderly, expanding possibly the use of medication to new age groups.


Author(s):  
Timo D. Vloet ◽  
Marcel Romanos

Zusammenfassung. Hintergrund: Nach 12 Jahren Entwicklung wird die 11. Version der International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) von der Weltgesundheitsorganisation (WHO) im Januar 2022 in Kraft treten. Methodik: Im Rahmen eines selektiven Übersichtsartikels werden die Veränderungen im Hinblick auf die Klassifikation von Angststörungen von der ICD-10 zur ICD-11 zusammenfassend dargestellt. Ergebnis: Die diagnostischen Kriterien der generalisierten Angststörung, Agoraphobie und spezifischen Phobien werden angepasst. Die ICD-11 wird auf Basis einer Lebenszeitachse neu organisiert, sodass die kindesaltersspezifischen Kategorien der ICD-10 aufgelöst werden. Die Trennungsangststörung und der selektive Mutismus werden damit den „regulären“ Angststörungen zugeordnet und können zukünftig auch im Erwachsenenalter diagnostiziert werden. Neu ist ebenso, dass verschiedene Symptomdimensionen der Angst ohne kategoriale Diagnose verschlüsselt werden können. Diskussion: Die Veränderungen im Bereich der Angsterkrankungen umfassen verschiedene Aspekte und sind in der Gesamtschau nicht unerheblich. Positiv zu bewerten ist die Einführung einer Lebenszeitachse und Parallelisierung mit dem Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Schlussfolgerungen: Die entwicklungsbezogene Neuorganisation in der ICD-11 wird auch eine verstärkte längsschnittliche Betrachtung von Angststörungen in der Klinik sowie Forschung zur Folge haben. Damit rückt insbesondere die Präventionsforschung weiter in den Fokus.


Author(s):  
Thomas A. Widiger ◽  
Maryanne Edmundson

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III) is often said to have provided a significant paradigm shift in how psychopathology is diagnosed. The authors of DSM-5 have the empirical support and the opportunity to lead the field of psychiatry to a comparably bold new future in diagnosis and classification. The purpose of this chapter is to address the validity of the categorical and dimensional models for the classification and diagnosis of psychopathology. Considered in particular will be research concerning substance use disorders, mood disorders, and personality disorders. Limitations and concerns with respect to a dimensional classification of psychopathology are also considered. The chapter concludes with a recommendation for a conversion to a more quantitative, dimensional classification of psychopathology.


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