Am J Psychiatry 1982; 139:922-925
Copyright © 1982 by American Psychiatric Association
Impact of DSM-III on clinical practice
TJ Craig, AB Goodman and G Haugland
The authors compared criterion-based diagnoses (DSM-III) with clinical
diagnoses (DSM-II) for 102 psychiatric inpatients. The introduction of
specified diagnostic criteria represented a refinement of existing
diagnostic practices rather than a qualitatively different approach to
diagnoses; however, in the schizophrenia and affective disorder categories,
nonwhites and women were more often assigned to worse prognostic category
by the DSM-II system than were white men with similar symptoms. The authors
suggest that the introduction of DSM-III criteria may ensure more
appropriate diagnosis and treatment for nonwhites and women.
