ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R

Advances in Psychological Science ›› 2013, Vol. 21 ›› Issue (11): 1967-1975.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2013.01967

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From DSM-Ⅳ Somatoform Disorder to DSM-5 Somatic Symptom Disorder

CHEN Zichen;WANG Xinjian   

  1. (Department of Social Psychology, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China)
  • Received:2013-05-27 Online:2013-11-15 Published:2013-11-15
  • Contact: WANG Xinjian

Abstract:

DSM-Ⅳ is one of the most widely used diagnostic criteria for the assessment of mental illness. However, in clinical practice, the DSM-Ⅳcriteria of somatoform disorders have several problems, which include poor applicability, imprecise standard, and overlapping classification. These aspects have been improved in the newer version of DSM, the DSM-5. The equivalent subcategory has been renamed as somatic symptom disorders in the DSM-5 criteria, with the language concerning “medically unexplained symptoms” removed, psychological criteria included, and subtypes combined or simplified. In this article, we analyze the major changes of DSM-5 somatic symptom disorders criteria. We also discussed a few potential problems with the new criteria and the possibilities to further develop the diagnosis criteria.

Key words: somatoform disorder, somatic symptom disorders, DSM-Ⅳ, DSM-5, diagnosis of mental disorders