title: Current concept of anxiety: implications from Darwin to the DSM-V for the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder.
abstract: This article proposes a revision of the historical evolution of the concepts of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Currently, Darwin's evolutionary theory is the hegemonic paradigm for modern science and influences research on mental disorders. Throughout the 20th Century, the editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; American Psychiatric Association) have changed the diagnostic criteria for GAD, reflecting the prevailing psychiatric understanding of this disorder. The prevalence and symptoms of major depression and GAD show the fragility of the categorical conception of these conditions. Differences in cultural views towards anxiety disorders also suggest that anxiety cannot have a uniform definition. This article provides contributions for reflecting future guidelines concerning the diagnostic criteria for GAD in DSM-V.
authors.affiliation: nstitute of Psychology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. f.coutinhosouza@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Fernanda Corrêa
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Coutinho
authors.forename: Gisele Pereira
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: Mário Cesar
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: do Nascimento Bevilaqua
authors.forename: Patricia Franca
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Gardino
authors.forename: Bernard
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Pimentel Rangé
authors.forename: Antonio Egidio
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Nardi
mesh_terms: D001007:Anxiety / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D006801:Humans