Abstract

Generally, diseases are primarily harmful to the individual herself; harm to others may or may not be a secondary effect of diseases (e.g., in case of infectious diseases). This is also true for mental disorders. However, both ICD-10 and DSM-5 contain two diagnoses which are primarily defined by behavior harmful to others, namely Pedophilic Disorder and Antisocial (or Dissocial) Personality Disorder (ASPD or DPD). Both diagnoses have severe conceptual problems in the light of general definitions of mental disorder, like the definition in DSM-5 or Wakefield’s “harmful dysfunction” model. We argue that in the diagnoses of Pedophilic Disorder and ASPD the criterion of harm to the individual is substituted by the criterion of harm to others. Furthermore, the application of the criterion of dysfunction to these two diagnoses is problematic because both heavily depend on cultural and social norms. Therefore, these two diagnoses fall outside the general disease concept and even outside the general concept of mental disorders. We discuss whether diagnoses which primarily or exclusively ground on morally wrong, socially inacceptable, or criminal behavior should be eliminated from ICD and DSM. On the one side, if harming others is a sufficient criterion of a mental disorder, the “evil” is pathologized. On the other side, there are practical reasons for keeping these diagnoses: first for having an official research frame, second for organizing and financing treatment and prevention. We argue that the criteria set of Pedophilic Disorder should be reformulated in order to make it consistent with the general definition of mental disorder in DSM-5. This diagnosis should only be applicable to individuals that are distressed or impaired by it, but not solely based on behavior harmful to others. For ASPD, we conclude that the arguments for eliminating it from the diagnostic manuals overweigh the arguments for keeping it.

Highlights

  • Diseases are primarily harmful to the diseased individual herself either by being directly life-threatening or at least lifeshortening, or by causing pain or suffering, or by impairing her ability to live in human symbiotic communities [1]

  • Dissocial and disinhibited traits and behaviors may be a specifier among others in a diagnosis of a personality disorder. In both the definitions of Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and Pedophilic Disorder behavior harmful to others or even criminal behavior is a criterion for the diagnosis of a mental disorder

  • The key question is: Should criminal behavior/harm to others be a sufficient criterion of a mental disorder? Or does this lead to a “medicalization” of vice conditions, meaning that “all problematic deviance reflects human illness or injury, including criminality and ‘immoral’ conduct” [6] (p. 12)? The crucial point is: can behavior harmful to others alone indicate the presence of a mental disorder? Or is this rather an attempt to “pathologize the morally wrong”? We will come back to this question later

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Summary

Introduction

Diseases are primarily harmful to the diseased individual herself either by being directly life-threatening or at least lifeshortening, or by causing pain or suffering, or by impairing her ability to live in human symbiotic communities [1]. A mere infection, is not called a disease as long as it is not and will not be harmful to the infected individual herself, even if it poses a risk to others as a secondary effect. This is evident from the example of asymptomatic carriers of pathogens. They may transmit the pathogen to others and harm vulnerable, e.g. immunosuppressed people, medicine does not regard them as ill.. They may transmit the pathogen to others and harm vulnerable, e.g. immunosuppressed people, medicine does not regard them as ill. such persons should be described as being ‘disease-causing’ for others, rather than as being ‘diseased’ themselves

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