title: DSM-III: the major achievements and an overview.
abstract: DSM-III will be published early this year. In the first part of this article the authors describe some of the major achievements of DSM-III: the process of its development, reaching consensus on many controversial diagnostic categories and a definition of mental disorder, the provision of diagnostic criteria and a multiaxial evaluation system, and the demonstration of improved diagnostic reliability. In the second part of the article the authors present an overview of DSM-III in which they describe its departures from DSM-II and the reasons for these changes. They conclude that in the next few years there should be systematic study of DSM-III in use, so that information about its strengths and limitations can be made available to those responsible for developing DSM-IV.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008370:Manuals as Topic; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis*; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D010554:Personality Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis; D011605:Psychoses, Substance-Induced / Q000175:diagnosis; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000175:diagnosis; D012917:Social Adjustment; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis