| Diagnostic Category | Core Features | Examples of Specific Disorders |
|---|---|---|
| Neurodevelopmental disorders | Includes a wide range of developmental, behavioral, learning, and communication disorders that are usually first diagnosed in infancy, childhood, or adolescence. Symptoms of a particular disorder may vary depending on a child’s age and development level. | Autistic spectrum disorder: Onset of symptoms prior to age of 3. Characterized by (1) deficits in social communication and social interaction and (2) restricted, repetitive behaviors, interests, and activities; diagnosed according to level of symptom of severity, ranging from “requiring support” to “requiring very substantial support.” Tourette’s disorder: Onset prior to age of 18. Characterized by motor tics, such as recurring spasmodic movements of the head or arms, and vocal tics, such as recurring and sudden clicking, grunting, or snorting sounds. Sometimes involves uncontrollable utterances of profane or obscene words. |
| Substance-related and addictive disorders (see Chapter 4) | Characterized by a cluster of cognitive, behavioral, and physiological symptoms indicating that the individual continues using the substance or behavior despite significant problems related to the substance or behavior. | Substance use disorder: Recurrent substance use that involves impaired control, disruption of social, occupational, and interpersonal functioning, and the development of craving, tolerance, and withdrawal symptoms. Gambling disorder: Persistent gambling that disrupts personal, family, and/or vocational pursuits. |
| Somatic symptom and related disorders | Characterized by persistent, recurring complaints of bodily (or somatic) symptoms that are accompanied by abnormal thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in response to these symptoms. | Somatic symptom disorder: characterized by excessive worry or distress that is out of proportion to the seriousness of physical symptoms that are present. Illness anxiety disorder: excessive preoccupation with one’s health and worry about illness despite the absence of serious physical symptoms. |
| Paraphilic disorders (see Chapter 10) | Group of disorders involving intense and persistent sexual interest in inappropriate objects, activities, or people that causes distress or impairment to the person or distress or harm to others. | Voyeuristic disorder: Recurrent and intense sexual arousal from observing a person who is undressing, naked, or engaging in sexual activity. Fetishistic disorder: Recurrent, intense, sexually arousing fantasies, urges, or behaviors, usually involving nonliving objects, such as female undergarments, shoes, boots, or other articles of clothing that causes significant personal distress or psychosocial role impairment. |
| Disruptive, impulse-control, and conduct disorders | Varied group of disorders involving problems in the self-control of emotions and behaviors and which are manifested in behaviors that harm or violate the rights of others. | Kleptomania: The recurrent failure to resist impulses to steal items that are not needed for personal use or for their monetary value. Pyromania: Deliberately setting fires on more than one occasion, accompanied by pleasure, gratification, or relief of tension. |
| Source: American Psychiatric Association (2013). | ||
| This table includes some of the main diagnostic categories that are not covered in this chapter. We cover the major classes of psychological disorders in this chapter. Other important, but less common, diagnostic categories are shown here. | ||