The feasibility and need for dimensional psychiatric diagnoses

Background. It is our contention that both categorical and dimensional approaches to diagnosis are important for clinical work and research alike, and that each approach has its drawbacks and advantages. As the processes toward developing DSM-V and ICD-11 progress, we suggest that another exclusivel...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychological medicine 2006-12, Vol.36 (12), p.1671-1680
Main Authors: HELZER, JOHN E., KRAEMER, HELENA C., KRUEGER, ROBERT F.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
Classification
Diagnosis
Feasibility
Feasibility Studies
Health Services Needs and Demand
Humans
Medical diagnosis
Medical research
Medical sciences
Mental Disorders - diagnosis
Nosology. Terminology. Diagnostic criteria
Original Article
Psychiatric disorders
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychopathology. Psychiatry
Surveys and Questionnaires
Techniques and methods
Terminology
Terminology as Topic
Citations: Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Background. It is our contention that both categorical and dimensional approaches to diagnosis are important for clinical work and research alike, and that each approach has its drawbacks and advantages. As the processes toward developing DSM-V and ICD-11 progress, we suggest that another exclusively categorical revision of psychiatric taxonomies will no longer be sufficient and that adding a dimensional component is a necessary step if these taxonomies are to continue serving the future clinical and research needs of psychiatry as they have so effectively done in the past. Method. We begin the paper with a review of terminology related to categories and dimensions and briefly review literature on advantages and disadvantages of both approaches. Results. A review of relevant literature supports both the need for and feasibility of augmenting traditional categorical diagnoses with dimensional information. Conclusion. We conclude with a proposal for preserving traditional categorical diagnostic definitions, but adding a dimensional component that would be reflective of and directly referable back to the categorical definitions. We also offer a specific proposal for adding a dimensional component to official taxonomies such as the DSM and the ICD in a way that fully preserves the traditional categorical approach.
ISSN:0033-2917
1469-8978
DOI:10.1017/S003329170600821X