Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:904-907
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
The usefulness of DSM-III axis IV and axis V assessments
G Schrader, M Gordon and R Harcourt
DSM-III multiaxial diagnoses were given to 257 patients. Analysis of axis I
diagnoses and axis IV and axis V assessments generally revealed the
expected associations between particular psychiatric disorders and levels
of psychosocial stress and social and occupational functioning. However, a
major difficulty affecting the usefulness of axis IV and axis V data when
they are routinely gathered according to the current DSM-III instructions
is the stipulation that the clinician judge the etiological significance of
a stressor before it is coded.
