[Contributions from two Latin American psychiatric classifications to the development of ICD-11]

In the context of the updating of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), this study conducted a code-by-code comparison between the ICD-10 chapter "Mental and Behavioural Disorders" and the diagnostic categories of two Latin American classification schemes: the Third Cuban Psychiatric Glossary (GC-3) and the Latin American Guide to Psychiatric Diagnosis (GLADP). The objective was to help define what categories in the current classification should be broadened and what new categories might be added to the future ICD-11 to make it more applicable in local sociocultural and clinical contexts that differ from those found in regions whose perspectives have historically dominated the ICD, namely, the United States and Europe. It is hoped that the results will contribute to the efforts under way to develop a genuinely international classification system.

Hebephilia is not a mental disorder in DSM-IV-TR and should not become one in DSM-5

The paraphilia section of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) is being misinterpreted in the forensic evaluations of sexually violent offenders. The resulting misuse of the term paraphilia not otherwise specified, hebephilia, has justified the inappropriate involuntary commitment of individuals who do not in fact qualify for a DSM-IV-TR diagnosis of mental disorder. This article has two purposes: to clarify what the DSM-IV-TR was meant to convey and how it has been twisted in translation within the legal system, and to warn that the DSM-5 proposal to include pedohebephilia threatens to make the current bad situation very much worse in the future.

Paraphilia NOS, nonconsent: not ready for the courtroom

Sexually violent predators (SVP) constitute a serious potential risk to public safety, especially when they are released after too short a prison sentence. Twenty states and the federal government have developed a seemingly convenient way to reduce this risk. They have passed statutes that allow for the involuntary (often lifetime) psychiatric commitment of mentally disordered sexual offenders after prison time is up. In three separate cases, the Supreme Court has accepted the constitutionality of this procedure, but only if the offender's dangerousness is caused by a mental disorder and is not a manifestation of simple criminality. The idea that paraphilic rape should be an official category in the psychiatric diagnostic manual has been explicitly rejected by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)-III, DSM-III-R, DSM-IV, and, recently, DSM-5. Despite this, paraphilia NOS, nonconsent, is still frequently used by mental health evaluators in SVP cases to provide a mental disorder diagnosis that legitimizes psychiatric commitment and makes it appear constitutional. This commentary will show how the diagnosis paraphilia NOS, nonconsent, is based on a fundamental misreading of the original intent of the DSM-IV Paraphilia Workgroup and represents a misuse of psychiatry, all in the admittedly good cause of protecting public safety.

The inclusion of child pornography in the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for pedophilia: conceptual and practical problems

The proposal to add use of child pornography to Criterion B of pedophilia is in direct conflict with the newly proposed distinction between paraphilia and paraphilic disorder, muddying rather than clarifying the diagnostic definition of pedophilia. The proposal to distinguish paraphilic disorder from paraphilia derives from the fact that the diagnostic criteria for the paraphilias have two components: Criterion A, defining the presence of a paraphilic erotic interest, and Criterion B, requiring clinically significant distress, impairment, or acting out the paraphilia with a nonconsenting person. Meeting Criteria A and B is necessary for a diagnosis of paraphilic disorder; meeting only Criterion A indicates a paraphilia. Use of pornography is better placed within Criterion A, perhaps as an example of a behavioral manifestation of pedophilia. If the Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders Work Group's true intent was to add a third prong to Criterion B, then the criterion must be modified to restrict it to the use of illegal forms of pornography (i.e., visual depictions of real children), excluding written or aural forms or virtual images.

Paradigm shifts and the development of the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: past experiences and future aspirations

OBJECTIVE

Work is currently under way on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), Fifth Edition, due to be published by the American Psychiatric Association in 2013. Dissatisfaction with the current categorical descriptive approach has led to aspirations for a paradigm shift for DSM-5.

METHOD

A historical review of past revisions of the DSM was performed. Efforts undertaken before the start of the DSM-5 development process to conduct a state-of-the science review and set a research agenda were examined to determine if results supported a paradigm shift for DSM-5. Proposals to supplement DSM-5 categorical diagnosis with dimensional assessments are reviewed and critiqued.

RESULTS

DSM revisions have alternated between paradigm shifts (the first edition of the DSM in 1952 and DSM-III in 1980) and incremental improvements (DSM-II in 1968, DSM-III-R in 1987, and DSM-IV in 1994). The results of the review of the DSM-5 research planning initiatives suggest that despite the scientific advances that have occurred since the descriptive approach was first introduced in 1980, the field lacks a sufficiently deep understanding of mental disorders to justify abandoning the descriptive approach in favour of a more etiologically based alternative. Proposals to add severity and cross-cutting dimensions throughout DSM-5 are neither paradigm shifting, given that simpler versions of such dimensions are already a component of DSM-IV, nor likely to be used by busy clinicians without evidence that they improve clinical outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite initial aspirations that DSM would undergo a paradigm shift with this revision, DSM-5 will continue to adopt a descriptive categorical approach, albeit with a greatly expanded dimensional component.

Alternative futures for the DSM revision process: iteration v. paradigm shift

Two major approaches can be used for the up-coming revisions of DSM-V and ICD-10: an 'iterative model' in which incremental changes are made or a 'paradigm shift model' in which the existing approach is jettisoned in favour of a new nosological model. We explore each of these two approaches and conclude that although they both have strengths and limitations, our field is not currently ready for a paradigm shift.

The psychosis risk syndrome and its proposed inclusion in the DSM-V: a risk-benefit analysis

The inclusion of a psychosis risk syndrome has been proposed for the 5th edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. The appropriateness of inclusion of this new risk syndrome in the DSM depends on a careful analysis of both anticipated benefits and risks. Purported benefits include early recognition and case identification, and the hypothetical benefit of preventive intervention of psychotic disorders, for which there is as yet no clear evidence base. However, there is a potential for high rates of false positives particularly at the community level given the difficulty in discriminating mild symptoms from normal variants and low base rates of the syndrome in the general population. High false-positive rates in and of themselves are not necessarily problematic if the risk-benefit ratio is significantly favorable, as with screening for cardiovascular risk factors. For the psychosis risk syndrome, by contrast, there are substantial risks, for both stigma and discrimination, and for unnecessary exposure to antipsychotic medications, which make the high false-positive rate associated with the psychosis risk designation particularly problematic. More research is needed to improve the positive predictive value of the psychosis risk syndrome so that it can be considered for inclusion in future editions of the DSM.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health Mental Health Surveillance Study: calibration study design and field procedures

The Mental Health Surveillance Study (MHSS) is an ongoing initiative by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to monitor the prevalence of serious mental illness (SMI) among adults in the USA. In 2008, the MHSS used data from clinical interviews to calibrate mental health data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) for estimating the prevalence of SMI based on the full NSDUH sample. The clinical interview used was the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 4th edition (DSM-IV; SCID). NSDUH interviews were administered via audio computer-assisted self-interviewing (ACASI) to a nationally representative sample of the population aged 12 years or older. A total of 46,180 NSDUH interviews were completed with adults aged 18 years or older in 2008. The SCID was administered by mental health clinicians to a sub-sample of 1506 adults via telephone. This paper describes the MHSS calibration study procedures, including information on sample selection, instrumentation, follow-up, data quality protocols, and management of distressed respondents.

Harmonisation of ICD-11 and DSM-V: opportunities and challenges

BACKGROUND

Differences in the ICD-10 and DSM-IV definitions for the same disorder impede international communication and research efforts. The forthcoming parallel development of DSM-V and ICD-11 offers an opportunity to harmonise the two classifications.

AIMS

This paper aims to facilitate the harmonisation process by identifying diagnostic differences between the two systems.

METHOD

DSM-IV-TR criteria sets and the ICD-10 Diagnostic Criteria for Research were compared and categorised into those with identical definitions, those with conceptually based differences and those in which differences are not conceptually based and appear to be unintentional.

RESULTS

Of the 176 criteria sets in both systems, only one, transient tic disorder, is identical. Twenty-one per cent had conceptually based differences and 78% had non-conceptually based differences.

CONCLUSIONS

Harmonisation of criteria sets, especially those with non-conceptually based differences, should be prioritised in the DSM-V and ICD-11 development process. Prior experience with the DSM-IV and ICD-10 harmonisation effort suggests that for the process to be successful steps should be taken as early as possible.

Stigmatization and receptivity to mental health services among recently bereaved adults

Severe grief symptoms, treatment receptivity, attitudes about grief, and stigmatization concerns were assessed in a community-based sample of 135 widowed participants in the Yale Bereavement Study. There was a statistically significant association between the severity of grief symptoms and reported negative reactions from friends and family members. However, more than 90% of the respondents with complicated grief, a severe grief disorder, reported that they would be relieved to know that having such a diagnosis was indicative of a recognizable psychiatric condition, and 100% reported that they would be interested in receiving treatment for their severe grief symptoms.

Proposals for new standardized general diagnostic criteria for the secondary headaches

Headache classification is a dynamic process through clinical testing and re-testing of current and proposed criteria. After publication of the second edition of the International Classification of Headache Disorders (ICHD-II), need arose for revisions in the classification of medication overuse headache and chronic migraine. These changes made apparent a further need for broader revisions to the standard formulation of diagnostic criteria for the secondary headaches. Currently, the fourth criterion makes impossible the definitive diagnosis of a secondary headache until the underlying cause has resolved or been cured or greatly ameliorated by therapy, at which time the headache may no longer be present. Given that the main purpose of diagnostic criteria is to enable a diagnosis at the onset of a disease in order to guide treatment, this is unhelpful in clinical practice. In the present paper we propose maintaining a standard approach to the secondary headaches using a set of four criteria A, B, C and D, but we construct these so that the requirement for resolution or successful treatment is removed. The proposal for general diagnostic criteria for the secondary headaches will be entered into the internet-based version of the appendix of ICHD-II. During 2009 the Classification Committee will apply the general criteria to all the specific types of secondary headaches. These, and other changes, will be included in a revision of the entire classification entitled ICHD-IIR, expected to be published in 2010. ICHD-IIR will be printed and posted on the website and will be the official classification of the International Headache Society. Unfortunately, it will be necessary to translate ICHD-IIR into the many languages of the world, but the good news is that no major changes to the headache classification are then foreseen for the next 10 years. Until the printing of ICHD-IIR, the printed ICHD-II criteria remain in place for all other purposes. We issue a plea to the headache community to use and study these proposed general criteria for the secondary headaches in order to provide more evidence for their utility-before their incorporation in the main body of the classification.

Prolonged grief disorder: Psychometric validation of criteria proposed for DSM-V and ICD-11

BACKGROUND

Bereavement is a universal experience, and its association with excess morbidity and mortality is well established. Nevertheless, grief becomes a serious health concern for a relative few. For such individuals, intense grief persists, is distressing and disabling, and may meet criteria as a distinct mental disorder. At present, grief is not recognized as a mental disorder in the DSM-IV or ICD-10. The goal of this study was to determine the psychometric validity of criteria for prolonged grief disorder (PGD) to enhance the detection and potential treatment of bereaved individuals at heightened risk of persistent distress and dysfunction.

METHODS AND FINDINGS

A total of 291 bereaved respondents were interviewed three times, grouped as 0-6, 6-12, and 12-24 mo post-loss. Item response theory (IRT) analyses derived the most informative, unbiased PGD symptoms. Combinatoric analyses identified the most sensitive and specific PGD algorithm that was then tested to evaluate its psychometric validity. Criteria require reactions to a significant loss that involve the experience of yearning (e.g., physical or emotional suffering as a result of the desired, but unfulfilled, reunion with the deceased) and at least five of the following nine symptoms experienced at least daily or to a disabling degree: feeling emotionally numb, stunned, or that life is meaningless; experiencing mistrust; bitterness over the loss; difficulty accepting the loss; identity confusion; avoidance of the reality of the loss; or difficulty moving on with life. Symptoms must be present at sufficiently high levels at least six mo from the death and be associated with functional impairment.

CONCLUSIONS

The criteria set for PGD appear able to identify bereaved persons at heightened risk for enduring distress and dysfunction. The results support the psychometric validity of the criteria for PGD that we propose for inclusion in DSM-V and ICD-11. Please see later in the article for Editors' Summary.

Development and validation of a new procedure for the diagnostic assessment of personality disorder: the Multidimensional Personality Disorder Rating Scale (MPDRS)

Data from a community-based prospective longitudinal study were used to investigate the utility of a structured assessment of the DSM-IV General Diagnostic Criteria for a Personality Disorder (PD). The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV PDs (SCID-II) was administered to 154 adults. After completing the interview, an experienced clinician assessed the General Diagnostic Criteria for a PD using a structured rating scale. PD diagnoses, based solely on the rating scale data, demonstrated strong agreement with diagnoses obtained using the diagnostic thresholds for specific PDs (Kappa = 0.89). The sensitivity, specificity, predictive power, and internal reliability of the rating scale were satisfactory. PD diagnoses, based on both of the assessment procedures, were associated with substantial impairment and distress. These findings suggest that a structured assessment of the DSM-IV General Diagnostic Criteria for a Personality Disorder may constitute a useful alternative or supplement to standard assessments of the diagnostic thresholds for specific DSM-IV PDs.