Classification and descriptive psychopathology of post-traumatic stress disorder and other stressor-related disorders
This chapter addresses the new section in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) called ‘Trauma and stressor-related disorders’. All diagnoses within this category have two things in common: (1) a discrete traumatic/adverse event or experience that preceded the onset or aggravation of symptoms; and (2) a wide range of cognitions, emotions, and behaviours embedded within DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for each disorder. The chapter also discusses the comparable proposed diagnostic criteria for the eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11). Current considerations and challenges regarding the classification of stressor-related disorders are reviewed.