Is DSM-5 an improvement over DSM-IV in the area of PTSD?
The publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) introduces a number of significant changes to the criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder, including the revision to the A trauma criterion, three additional symptoms (increasing the symptom total from 17 to 20), and a division of the avoidance cluster into avoidance and negative alterations in cognitions and mood. The main purpose of revising any psychiatric definition is to enhance diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility. There are many researches investigating on whether the DSM-5 model of PTSD is an improvement over the previous DSM-IV model …show more content…
The original avoidance cluster is separated into avoidance and negative alterations in cognitions and mood. Now DSM-5 Criterion C consists of only two items reflecting avoidance, whereas Criterion D includes symptoms of negative alterations in cognitions and mood. A diagnosis of PTSD in DSM-5 requires one symptom each from Clusters B and C and two symptoms each from Clusters D and E, all of which must follow a qualifying Criterion A event. Therefore, the DSM-5 turned the DSM-IV three-factor model of PTSD into a four-factor model. The first factor is DSM-5 Criterion B, which remain largely the same as those in the DSM-IV reexperiencing cluster. However, the original second factor Criterion C, avoidance, is now separated into two factors, which are Criterion C, persistent avoidance, and Criterion D, alternations in cognitions and mood. Finally, the last factor in DSM-IV, Criterion D, is now DSM-5 Criterion E. The cluster consists of hyperarousal and reactivity symptoms (previously DSM-IV hyperarousal symptoms). Several researches examine the new 4-factor model and the previous 3-factor DSM-IV model. One of the researches uses a modified version of a gold-standard clinical interview to assess the factor structure of PTSD among a large sample of Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans (N = 414) (Gentes, 2014). A factor structure is the correlation between a number of variables that measure PTSD. This research uses confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) to compare the fit of the previous 3-factor DSM-IV model of PTSD to the 4-factor model specified in DSM-5. CFA illustrates that the DSM-5 model provides better overall fit to the data than the 3-factor DSM-IV model according to chi-square test of difference. Overall, the CFA results provide support for the DSM-5 model and suggest that it is a significant improvement over the previous DSM-IV model of PTSD. This research also
The publication of the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association, 2013) introduces a number of significant changes to the criteria of post-traumatic stress disorder, including the revision to the A trauma criterion, three additional symptoms (increasing the symptom total from 17 to 20), and a division of the avoidance cluster into avoidance and negative alterations in cognitions and mood. The main purpose of revising any psychiatric definition is to enhance diagnostic accuracy and clinical utility. There are many researches investigating on whether the DSM-5 model of PTSD is an improvement over the previous DSM-IV model …show more content…
The original avoidance cluster is separated into avoidance and negative alterations in cognitions and mood. Now DSM-5 Criterion C consists of only two items reflecting avoidance, whereas Criterion D includes symptoms of negative alterations in cognitions and mood. A diagnosis of PTSD in DSM-5 requires one symptom each from Clusters B and C and two symptoms each from Clusters D and E, all of which must follow a qualifying Criterion A event. Therefore, the DSM-5 turned the DSM-IV three-factor model of PTSD into a four-factor model. The first factor is DSM-5 Criterion B, which remain largely the same as those in the DSM-IV reexperiencing cluster. However, the original second factor Criterion C, avoidance, is now separated into two factors, which are Criterion C, persistent avoidance, and Criterion D, alternations in cognitions and mood. Finally, the last factor in DSM-IV, Criterion D, is now DSM-5 Criterion E. The cluster consists of hyperarousal and reactivity symptoms (previously DSM-IV hyperarousal symptoms). Several researches examine the new 4-factor model and the previous 3-factor DSM-IV model. One of the researches uses a modified version of a gold-standard clinical interview to assess the factor structure of PTSD among a large sample of Iraq/Afghanistan-era veterans (N = 414) (Gentes, 2014). A factor structure is the correlation between a number of variables that measure PTSD. This research uses confirmatory factor analysis(CFA) to compare the fit of the previous 3-factor DSM-IV model of PTSD to the 4-factor model specified in DSM-5. CFA illustrates that the DSM-5 model provides better overall fit to the data than the 3-factor DSM-IV model according to chi-square test of difference. Overall, the CFA results provide support for the DSM-5 model and suggest that it is a significant improvement over the previous DSM-IV model of PTSD. This research also