DSM-5 Stirs Controversy

Whether the new DSM-5 could make many more people addicts, and further burden cash-strapped state budgets ... these are some of the questions being raised in articles and blogs, including a rather critical story appearing recently in the Sunday New York Times. The 5th edition of the American Psychiatric Association's "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" is scheduled to be released in about a year. Addiction and related disorders is a new category, replacing substance abuse and dependence, and with generally broader guidelines, and a reduced number of criteria to meet standards for a diagnosis, the articles charge that tens of millions of people could be newly classified as having an addiction disorder - including those with the newly created category of behavioral addictions, which includes chronic gambling problems, and potentially others such as Internet, shopping and sex addictions.