Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is a taxonomy of mental disorders published by the American Psychiatric Association and currently in its fourth edition (DSM-IV; 1994). The first edition was published in 1952 and was the first publication to categorize mental disorders for the purpose of clinical utility. Since that time, the DSM has developed into a tool that allows professionals from various fields to communicate effectively with one another for research, educational, statistical, and clinical purposes. The DSM is established within a medical model, a method with international recognition. It is complementary to the International Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems published by the World Health Organization.

The DSM is similar to any medical text outlining diagnoses used for categorization. Categorizing disorders or diseases has a long history as a means of organizing and communicating information for the purposes of treatment or research. The DSM is relatively easy to read and comprehend; however, the application of material is far more complicated. The text itself merely provides a means by which professionals with sufficient experience and training can diagnose disorders. Understanding the meaning of these diagnoses requires experience and appropriate training.

The current edition of the DSM was developed as the result of work groups and task forces that comprehensively reviewed published literature, analyzed data, and investigated field trails to validate diagnostic criteria induced in the text. The result of this process was the inclusion of 16 diagnostic conditions:

Each diagnostic category provides information regarding primary features, subtypes, specifiers, recording procedures, associated features, common course of the disorder, familiar patterns, differential diagnosis, and features specific to culture, age, and gender.

It should be noted that within the DSM-IV text are cautions toward its use within the forensic arena. Diagnostic information was not written for legal usage; therefore, its use within a forensic setting or for forensic purposes is at a “significant risk” for being “misused or misunderstood” (APA, 1994, p. xxiii). The fourth edition also includes cautions and guidelines about how to use diagnoses when working with someone from a cultural background that differs from the clinician. Disorders can present differently across cultures, and diagnoses can be inaccurately applied when the diagnostician is unfamiliar with the culture of the individual being evaluated.