classification systems for diagnosing mental disorders

Question 1

what is a classification system?

Answer 1

a checklist of signs / symptoms which help a clinician reach a diagnosis of a specific disorder, often by process of elimination

Question 2

what is the DSM?

Answer 2

• diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders
• published by american psychiatric society
• provides criteria to diagnose a mental disorder

Question 3

what was the DSM developed for?

Answer 3

in response to the need for a census of mental health disorders

Question 4

define ‘neurosis’

Answer 4

behaviour falls outside of normal functioning but the individual is aware that they are ill

Question 5

define ‘psychosis’

Answer 5

individual has lost touch with reality

Question 6

why do revisions of the DSM take place?

Answer 6

due to new research
- eg rosenhan’s study highlighted lack of validity in diagnosing mental illness

Question 7

summarise some of the changes made to the DSM

Answer 7

• axes removed as critics said these made it hard to link different symptoms
• unnecessary diagnoses removed eg autistic spectrum disorder became just 1 category (subtypes merged)
• reflection of social change eg awareness of cultural differences
• reflection of phrasing eg mental retardation to intellectual disability

Question 8

summarise the 3 sections of the DSM

Answer 8

1 - explains organisation and new changes
2 - diagnostic criteria and codes
3 - measures/models regarding future of diagnoses, categories which require more research to be added to section 2

Question 9

what is the ICD?

Answer 9

international statistical classification of diseases
- looks at general health
- monitors incidence and prevalence
- includes physical and mental disorders

Question 10

describe how the ICD is organised

Answer 10

• groups each disorder into a family
• each section has leftover codes so new disorders can be added

Question 11

explain how the ICD is helpful for clinicians

Answer 11

• coding allows clinicians to go from general to specific and convey their diagnosis systematically
• guides diagnosis through a clinical interview: details of symptoms, severity and duration

Question 12

state 4 similarities between the ICD and DSM

Answer 12

• both are diagnostic manuals
• info on mental disorders
• same definition and symptoms of depression
• both intended to be used by qualified health professionals

Question 13

state 5 differences between the ICD and DSM

Answer 13

• DSM used in US, ICD worldwide
• ICD contains physical and mental illnesses
• DSM is not multilingual
• DSM is revised every 5 years
• ICD is intended for use by all health practitioners

Question 14

describe how the ICD is used as a classification system for mental health (4)

Answer 14

• diagnostic system with info on physical and mental illnesses, used by healthcare professionals to diagnose
• used globally and splits disorders into categories, professionals look at appropriate section depending on what client presents
• provides features and symptoms for each disorder to help diagnose
• eg ICD 10 states that paranoid schizophrenia is dominated by relatively stable, paranoid delusions and hallucination

Question 15

how is reliability of diagnosis classification systems assessed?

Answer 15

cohen’s kappa
- statistic written as decimal
- refers to proportion of people who receive same diagnosis when assessed at a later time or by an alternative practitioner
- 0.7 = good agreement