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Supplementary dimensional assessment in anxiety disorders
M Katherine Shear1, Ingvar Bjelland, Katja Beesdo
1School of Social Work, Columbia University, New York, USA. ks2394@columbia.edu
International Journal of Methods in Psychiatric Research
|August 19, 2007
Summary
Anxiety disorders share common features and treatments despite heterogeneity. This study proposes dimensional ratings and staging to improve classification in the DSM-V for better clinical and research utility.
Area of Science:
- Psychiatry
- Clinical Psychology
- Mental Health
Background:
- Anxiety disorders, per DSM-IV, are heterogeneous but share psychopathological features and treatment principles.
- Common elements include anxiety reactions, panic attacks, avoidance, early onset, and persistence.
- Dimensional features are inherent in many anxiety disorder diagnoses, leading to numerous psychometric scales.
Purpose of the Study:
- To explore dimensional approaches in anxiety disorder classification.
- To discuss integrating categorical and dimensional strategies for DSM-V.
- To propose cross-cutting dimensional ratings and staging for improved classification.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of dimensional approaches in anxiety disorders.
- Analysis of psychometric scales for diagnostic constructs.
- Conceptual development of integrated categorical/dimensional models.
Main Results:
- Anxiety disorders exhibit shared dimensional characteristics.
- Current classification can be enhanced by dimensional ratings.
- A staging approach offers clinical and research benefits.
Conclusions:
- An integrated categorical/dimensional strategy can improve DSM-V usefulness.
- Cross-cutting dimensional ratings may lead to a better classification model.
- Illness staging based on dimensional ratings provides valuable clinical and research insights.
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