DSM-III and the diagnosis of schizophrenia

In order to achieve more understanding of the diagnosis of schizophrenia, particularly as it relates to DSM-III, a historical review of influential diagnostic systems is undertaken. It is noted which systems are most relevant to DSM-III and which systems DSM-III neglects. With this in mind, strengths and weaknesses of DSM-III are discussed. Although DSM-III provides a precise, reliable, and research-oriented system, it does not provide construct validity, identifies only the most chronic schizophrenics, does not provide either genetic or psychodynamic understanding, and implies therapeutic nihilism. A conclusion is reached, that, regarding the diagnosis of schizophrenia, DSM-III provides diagnostic criteria that are simply arbitrary and of no more use than a number of other systems.