Am J Psychiatry 1990; 147:1168-1172
Copyright © 1990 by American Psychiatric Association
Maladaptive denial of physical illness: a proposal for DSM-IV
DH Strauss, RL Spitzer and PR Muskin
Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University, New York, NY.
Denial of physical illness is a commonly encountered problem in
consultation-liaison psychiatry. Although there is an extensive literature
on denial, it has virtually ignored the diagnostic issues raised by the
individual whose denial of physical illness is clearly maladaptive. The
authors propose that DSM-IV include a subtype of adjustment disorder called
"with maladaptive denial of physical disorder." They discuss this new
category, its differential diagnosis, and the benefits to clinical practice
of this proposed addition to diagnostic classification.
