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