Abstract:

Released by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) in 2013, the Fifth Edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) has changed in a profound way compared to DSM-IV, especially concerning the adoption of dimensional approach. This new approach had triggered hot discussions among clinical psychiatrists and related researchers. As one of those areas where most discussions focused on, the Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder had dropped the traditional subtypes so as to adopt this dimensional approach. Those who advocated dimensional approach criticized the traditional subtypes from the perspective of reliability, validity, clinical utility, and scientific literature, and publicity. Meanwhile, they proposed some advantages of dimensional diagnoses from the angle of clinical treatment and psychopathological mechanism. Besides, other opinions were introduced and the disparity between clinical psychiatrists and psychiatric researchers were further discussed on the development of diagnostic efficiency and precision.

Key words: schizophrenia spectrum disorder, categorical approach, dimensional approach, reliability and validity, clinical utility