Native People and the DSM IV-TR

Native people, as everyone else, are impacted in diverse ways by various social stressors that can trigger dysfunctional behavior, such as substance abuse. Although, the DSM IV-TR acknowledges cultural differences and their effect upon dysfunction, it does not deal with pressures from the outside world that often impact diverse cultures in parallel ways. Here, three such diagnostic criteria (Bereavement, Identity Problem, and Acculturation Problem), that are presented in an abbreviated fashion within the DSM IV-TR, are given a more robust treatment in order to facilitate dysfunctional behavior among Native people, such as substance abuse.