DSM-III: problems in diagnosing partial forms of multiple personality disorder: discussion paper.

Abstract

Of all the defence mechanisms, only one — Dissociation — is treated as a separate diagnostic category in the third edition of the ‘Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders’ (DSM-III) (American Psychiatric Association 1980). Delusional marital jealousy, for instance, could be classified as one of the projective disorders, but this is not done. A group of disorders based on dissociation should be easily defined and organized, in comparison with the relatively bewildering array of psychotic disturbances. Yet DSM-III does not provide a conceptually coherent set of dissociative diagnoses. This problem in DSM-III is best illustrated by partial forms of multiple personality disorder (MPD) which at present receive the unsatisfactory diagnosis of atypical dissociative disorder. First, the organization of other sections of DSM-III will be discussed.