DSM & ICD Flashcards
Where is the DSM based?
USA
Where is the ICD based?
Worldwide
What version of DSM are we on currently?
V - updated regularly
What does the DSM contain?
Criteria for mental illness
e.g. 5 out of 9 symptoms for 2 weeks = depression
What does the DSM include?
Prevalence for each illness, co-morbid illnesses, differential diagnosis between similar illnesses
What does the ICD contain?
Diagnostic criteria for all illnesses, not just mental health
e.g. paranoid schizophrenia is dominated by relatively stable, paranoid delusions
Where can you find mental illnesses in ICD?
Chapter 5 Section F
Why is it good that we have a diagnostic manual?
Doctors have standardised symptoms to diagnose people by so
improves the reliability of diagnosis as having the same symptoms should mean that doctors should be diagnosing the same way
Why is having a diagnostic manual useful to individuals?
People can be given a
medical label and can access help and support
Why is it good that the manuals are regularly updated?
They reflect new understanding of the illnesses and iron out
issues in the criteria so improves the validity of the diagnosis as know about the illness rather than being outdated
Why is it an issue that the DSM and ICD differ in some symptoms/criteria used?
Issues of reliability when using the two
manuals
Why might updating the diagnostic manuals hinder the reliability of diagnosis?
Criteria changes so when people are rediagnosed later on their diagnostic label may change meaning their diagnosis was not a
reliable one
How does Rosenhan show that the DSM is reliable?
All but one of the pseudo-participants was given the same
diagnosis of having schizophrenia
How does Lee show that diagnostic manuals are a valid way of diagnosing mental illness?
Found concurrent validity by comparing DSM
behavioural and psychological characteristics with those found in an ADHD test
How does Rosenhan show there is low validity of DSM when diagnosing disorders?
Patients lying can fool DSM as they were admitted with Schizophrenia despite not having the disorder
