Am J Psychiatry 1988; 145:286-292
Copyright © 1988 by American Psychiatric Association
DSM-III axis IV revisited
JM Rey, GW Stewart, JM Plapp, MR Bashir and IN Richards
Rivendell Adolescent Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Concord, N.S.W., Australia.
Clinicians have traditionally inquired about stressful life events
preceding the onset of a psychiatric disorder. Axis IV of DSM-III attempted
to improve on this by suggesting that a wide range of events be considered
and that the information obtained be integrated into a global rating of
severity. After reviewing recent evidence, the authors suggest that this
process might result in ratings with lower reliability than expected. They
also discuss some of the methodological difficulties in this field and
explore directions for further research.
