title: Research on symptoms versus research on syndromes. Arguments in favour of allocating more research time to the study of symptoms.
abstract: Research on symptoms may often be more fruitful than research on syndromes because: (a) the validities of psychiatric diagnoses remain questionable; (b) interview assessments of a large number of symptoms are inadequate; (c) the diagnostic approach results in problems of misclassification and confounding; (d) the dimensional/categorical issue may be more readily resolved with research using a symptom approach; (e) useful animal models of symptoms are more likely to be developed than useful animal models of syndromes; and (f) symptoms may be better phenotypes than syndromes in genetic research.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Costello
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D006380:Helplessness, Learned; D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000235:genetics / Q000523:psychology; D008957:Models, Genetic; D012106:Research; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000145:classification / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D013577:Syndrome