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DSM-III-R criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder
E A Brett1, R L Spitzer, J B Williams
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
The American Journal of Psychiatry
|October 1, 1988
Abstract:
The authors describe the changes in DSM-III criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) that have been included in DSM-III-R. DSM-III-R includes specification of generic characteristics of traumatic stressors, clearer organization of symptoms around three dimensions of stress response (reexperiencing, avoidance and numbing, and physiological arousal), inclusion of symptoms specific to children, and specification of onset and duration of the disorder. The importance of these changes in the evolution of the diagnosis of PTSD is discussed.