[Correspondence] The DSM-5's supporting works: an underused resource

Diagnostic terminology is integral to psychiatry. Psychiatric education, the clinical diagnosis of mental illness in North America, and a substantial amount of research heavily use and rely on the DSM-5. However, it can be difficult for clinicians to find ways to incorporate new scientific findings into the diagnosis of patients, apply or modify diagnoses for patients from different cultures, and communicate meaningful ideas between the DSM-5 and other diagnostic systems.

Official American Psychiatric Association publications that were written by the authors of the DSM-5 and DSM-IV provide a wonderfully detailed explanation of the cultural and scientific rationales behind every criterion in the DSM-5. Cached webpages that were published from 2010 to 2012 explain the rationales and academic sources for DSM-5 diagnostic criteria.1American Psychiatric Association
DSM-5: the future of psychiatric diagnosis. These cached webpages can be accessed on the Internet Archive by typing “DSM5.org” into the search box on the front page. Since the DSM-5's authors cite the DSM-IV as the basis for many criteria, the cached webpages are best used to supplement physical copies of the DSM-IV Sourcebook, vol 1–4, which extensively explain the rationales, literature reviews, and scientific evidence behind the criteria and diagnoses in the DSM-IV.2Widiger T Frances A Pincus H et al. Together these cached webpages and physical books comprise invaluable primary sources that explain the scientific and cultural rationales for the DSM-5.

Application of the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation criteria and weighting of evidence can be used to elucidate the clinical importance of, and evidence for, each distinct criterion to weigh their comparative value when diagnosing patients. New biological findings, clinical trials, and research on cultural conceptions of mental illness can be used with the DSM-5's supporting works to write academic publications showing ways to update diagnostic criteria, apply them to patients from different cultures, or clarify the empirical relevance of diagnostic terminology.

One example of research that can be used with the DSM-5's supporting works to produce new academic perspectives is a review that reported that many African cultures promote relational-oriented personhood where personhood is manifested through connections to spiritual agency, social agency, and self-agency.3Cultural concepts of the person and mental health in Africa. Another example is a study in which interviews about the conceptualisation of depression with traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in Hong Kong showed that they implemented individualised diagnoses and treatments without a clear distinction between the mind and body.4Kam W Zhang Z-J Bäärnhielm S Traditional Chinese medicine explanatory models of depressive disorders: a qualitative study.The DSM-5's supporting works are also useful for any researchers who want to contribute to other diagnostic systems. The creators of the new Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology diagnostic system have issued an open invitation to join them to propose helpful updates.5Kotov R Krueger RF Watson D et al.The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): a quantitative nosology based on consensus of evidence. Since the DSM-5 has substantially influenced research and ideas over what constitutes a symptom or maladaptive behaviour, referencing the DSM-5's supporting works when proposing symptoms to incorporate into Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology can help to ensure that scientifically and culturally informed concepts are integrated into the Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology system.

The rationales that they explain make the DSM-5's supporting works valuable resources for psychiatric educators to use when explaining the scientific foundations of psychiatry. The DSM-5's supporting works are a scientific and cultural explanation of the North American diagnostic system for mental illness that is useful right now.

I declare no competing interests.

References1.American Psychiatric Association

DSM-5: the future of psychiatric diagnosis.

2.Widiger T Frances A Pincus H et al.

DSM-IV sourcebook.

vol 4. American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC3.

Cultural concepts of the person and mental health in Africa.

Transcult Psychiatry. 55: 198-2184.Kam W Zhang Z-J Bäärnhielm S

Traditional Chinese medicine explanatory models of depressive disorders: a qualitative study.

Cult Med Psychiatry. 43: 387-4035.Kotov R Krueger RF Watson D et al.

The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): a quantitative nosology based on consensus of evidence.

Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 17: 83-108Article InfoPublication HistoryIdentification