Psicodiagnostica e diagnosi psicologica

Written to help identify major gaps in our knowledge of how gender and age affect psychiatric diagnoses and to stimulate much-needed research to fill these gaps, Age and Gender Considerations in Psychiatric Diagnosis serves as both a valuable short-term source for the DSM-V Task Force and its disorder-specific workgroups, and a long-term guide for future studies that will contribute to revised psychiatric classifications in these three areas. Here, 47 experts present findings in three areas of psychiatric research that historically have been neglected but rightfully have received increasing attention in recent years and thus are worthy of investigation into their clinical features, etiology, and course: 1. Significant gender differences in prevalence, symptom profiles, and risk factors for mental disorders, including neurodevelopmental, neurophysiological, and environmental factors for men and women that cut across diagnostic categories-for example, the critical importance of gender in how psychiatric illness develops and presents; DSM's approach to gender to date; and relevant research findings and gaps in the epidemiology, etiology, and pathophysiology of disorders and the gender-related expression of psychopathology, including the controversial and complex question of whether DSM should have different diagnostic criteria for men and women. 2. Mental disorders in infancy and early childhood, including diagnosis and measurement of psychopathology; PTSD and social and cognitive factors related to the experience of stress; reactive attachment disorder (unique in part because of its specificity to early childhood); mood and anxiety disorders and difficulties in diagnosis; sleep disorders, including two new disorders, Night-Waking Dysomnia and Sleep-Onset Dysomnia; feeding disorders, including the need to address overeating and overfeeding (especially given the alleged U.S. epidemic of obesity); early childhood manifestations of behavior disorders; and early symptoms and diagnosis of autism. 3. Mental disorders in the elderly, such as dementia and depression, once considered normal consequences of aging but now understood to represent mental disorders, including the need to identify specific brain structure abnormalities, biomarkers, and the many contributing biological, psychosocial, and environmental factors of mental illness in late life and to understand their roles in the elderly to better diagnose and monitor disease progression. Written for clinicians and researchers alike, this thought-provoking compendium contributes critical information that helps enhance our understanding of the causes of mental disorders, develop effective preventive and treatment interventions, and inform future editions of DSM and ICD.

DSM-IV and ICD-10 both diagnose personality disorders categorically, yet studies indicate that many patients meet criteria for an excessive number of diagnoses, raising the question of whether personality disorders are discrete conditions or rather distinctions along dimensions of general personality functioning. This collection of papers renews long-standing proposals for a dimensional model of personality disorder, describing alternative models, addressing questions about their clinical application and utility, and suggesting that future research seek to integrate such models within a common hierarchical structure. With contributions by preeminent researchers in the field, Dimensional Models of Personality Disorders is drawn from a conference series convened by APA, WHO, and NIH in order to plan for the fifth edition of the DSM. The Nomenclature Work Group concluded that consideration should be given to basing part or all of DSM-V on dimensions rather than categories, and recommended that a dimensional model for personality disorders should serve as a basis for exploring dimensional approaches in other areas. Accordingly, the volume opens with a presentation of 18 proposals for dimensional models and proceeds with provocative contributions on a number of related issues ranging from hard science to clinical practice. Among the topics addressed are -Behavioral and molecular genetic research supporting an etiologically informed dimensional classification of personality disorders -The as-yet tenuous associations between dimensional trait measures of personality as contained in the models of Cloninger, Depue, and Siever-Davis, and specific neurobiological measures, as examined in neurotransmitter research -Potential links between childhood and adolescent temperament and personality dimensions and adult personality psychopathology -Studies examining the covariation of personality dimensions across cultures -The continuity of Axis I and Axis II disorders and a proposed hierarchical structure of mental disorders that integrates the psychopathology of Axis I disorders with specific personality traits -The dual challenges of coverage and cutoffs that must be addressed if dimensional models are to be considered viable alternatives to the existing categorical diagnostic system Although the editors acknowledge that concerns are certain to be raised regarding conversion to a dimensional classificationAsuch as the disruption to clinical practice by a radical shift in diagnosing personality disorderAthese papers make a strong case for opening the field to alternative ways of enhancing clinical utility and improving the validity of basic classification concepts. Together, they offer stimulating insight into how we approach personality disorders, with the hope of encouraging a new model of diagnosis for DSM-V.

CAMDEX-DS is a comprehensive assessment tool for diagnosing dementia in people with Down's syndrome (a group known to be at particular risk of dementia). Based upon CAMDEX-R, CAMDEX-DS has been modified for use with intellectual disability. In order to differentiate decline due to dementia or other mental disorders from pre-existing impairment, particular emphasis has been placed on establishing change from the individual's best level of functioning. The pack comprises a structured informant interview, a direct assessment of the patient/participant (CAMCOG), and guidance for diagnosis and post-diagnosis intervention, providing a reliable way to identify dementia (and to differentiate it from other common disorders). It may be used in community settings by mental health professionals as part of the diagnostic process, or to formalise diagnosis in the context of research. Use of the CAMCOG provides the means for on-going neuropsychological evaluation and informs future support and intervention strategies.

Seeking to integrate the large volume of clinical research on relational processes and mental health disorders with other scientific advances in psychiatry, Relational Processes and DSM-V builds on exciting advances in clinical research on troubled relationships. These advances included marked improvements in the assessment and epidemiology of troubled relationships as well the use of genetics, neuroscience, and immunology to explore the importance of close relationships in clinical practice. Advances in family-based intervention, and prevention are also highlighted to help practitioners and researchers find common ground and begin an empirically based discussion about the best way to revise the DSM. Given the overwhelming research showing that relationships play a role in regulating neurobiology and genetic expression and are critical for understanding schizophrenia, conduct disorder, and depression among other disorders, relational processes must be a part of any empirically based plan for revising psychiatric nosology in DSM-V. The chapters in this book counter the perspective that we can safely discard the biopsychosocial model that has guided psychiatry in the past. The contributors examine the relevance of close relationships in such issues as the basic psychopathology of mental disorders, factors influencing maintenance and relapse, sources of burden for family members, and guiding family-based interventions. By tying relational processes to basic research on psychopathology, they demonstrate the value of integrating basic behavioral and brain research with a sophisticated understanding of the self-organizing and self-sustaining characteristics of relationships. Coverage includes: -research linking relational processes to neuroscience, neurobiology, health outcomes, intervention research, prevention research, and genetics -consideration of specific circumstances, such as promoting healthy parenting following divorce and relational processes in depressed Latino adolescents -optimal approaches to the assessment of relational processes with clinical significance, such as child abuse, partner abuse, and expressed emotion. -a simple introduction to the methodology of taxometrics, offering insight into whether key relational processes are distinct categories or continuously distributed variables -an overview of the links between relational processes and psychiatric outcomes, providing a theoretical foundation for the discussion of links to psychopathology Together, these contributions seek to develop a shared commitment among clinicians, researchers, and psychopathologists to take seriously the issue of relational processes as they relate to diagnoses within DSM-and to encourage mental health care workers at all levels to harness the generative and healing properties of intimate relationships and make them a focus of clinical practice. It is a book that will prove useful to all who are interested in integrating greater sensitivity to relational processes in their work.