Survey study, 1989
Do mental health professionals support adding premenstrual dysphoric disorder to the psychiatric manual?
Most social workers surveyed did not support adding premenstrual dysphoric disorder to the manual, though many were undecided. This reflects professional debate about whether PMDD should be classified as a psychiatric diagnosis.
What they did
This was a survey study. Social workers were surveyed nationally about their views on three proposed new diagnoses to be added to the psychiatric manual: premenstrual dysphoric disorder, paraphilic rapism, and masochistic personality disorder.
What they found
The majority of social workers did not support adding these three proposed diagnoses, and many responses were undecided. Professional opposition was significant enough to reopen the debate about the manual among mental health professionals.
What it means for you
Mental health professionals disagreed about whether PMDD should be a psychiatric diagnosis. This is important because professional opinion can influence official diagnostic manuals. However, this is a survey of opinions, not evidence from clinical studies.
About the study
- Original title
- DSM-III-R: the conflict over new psychiatric diagnoses
- Authors
- Kutchins H, Kirk SA
- Journal
- Health & social work
- Year
- 1989
- Study design
- Survey study
- What was tested
- None
- Read the paper
- doi.org/10.1093/hsw/14.2.91
Topics
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