Robert L. Spitzer

The DSM-III Classification of the Psychiatric Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence

Abstract This paper reviews the basic features of DSM-III as a classification system for psychiatric disorders. In DSM-III there are many unique features such as the nonetiological descriptive approach, the systematic description of each disorder, diagnostic criteria, and the multiaxial classification. DSM-III contains many more possible codes in the section, Disorders Usually First Evident in Infancy, Childhood, or Adolescence, than in DSM-II. It also offers greater coverage of the psychiatric disorders of childhood and adolescence than did its predecessor.