Comps - Psychopathology (Subdomain 5)

Question 1

Why would changing to a dimensional model be beneficial? (Kramer, 2007)

Answer 1

1. The current model has high comorbidity
2. The current model leads to boundary disputes because of exclusionary criteria

Question 2

Psychiatrist Perspective (Zachar & Kendler, 2007)

Answer 2

-Categorical model
-Rooted in the medical model
-Uses essentialist model

Question 3

Essentialist Model

Answer 3

Disorders exist in the world and are to be discovered, which means they are value free (basically, disorders are things that exist and we just have to figure out what they are, and if this is true, they should not be influenced by our opinions and biases)

Question 4

Psychologist Perspective (Zachar & Kendler, 2007)

Answer 4

-Views disorders on a normal to abnormal spectrum
-Naturalist perspective

Question 5

Naturalist Perspective

Answer 5

Disorders are not a specific natural thing, but rather require our judgment to distinguish the boundaries or exist on an underlining dimension (e.g., the debate around PDs)

Question 6

What are the objections to the dimensional model? (First, 2005; Kraemer, 2007)

Answer 6

1. Lack of data on clinical utility
2. Medical diagnoses would become more complicated
3. Disruption to the use of the DSM
4. Disruption to research efforts
5. Any change to the DSM causes disruption in research and practice

Question 7

What are the caveats to the inclusion of the dimensional model? (Kraemer, 2007)

Answer 7

-Dimensional diagnoses must correspond well with categorical diagnoses, be clinically useful, be evidence-based, and meet standards for reliability and validity
-The original goal was to add dimensions to each DSM-5 category, but this was not done
-The issue is not whether a dimensional diagnosis can be added, but how best to do it
-Cut-off points with significance for the need for treatment are useful and need to be established
-Little empirical information exists on treatment or other clinical implications of a dimensional scale evaluation, specifically where to set cut-off points to maximize clinical utility