DSM-5 and its Impact on Forensics before the Courts

• In Event: Discussion and Implications of Biosocial and Psychological Research

Abstract

In May 2013, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) published the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) – a change that was required in order for clinical practitioners in the U.S. and beyond to be in compliance with the World Health Organization’s (WHO) latest, or pending, versions of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10-CM; ICD-11). In addition to a radical change in the multi-axis (5 axis) format initiated in 1980 with the DSM-III, changes in classification names, definitions and criteria has the potential for significant challenges to legal and administrative process including those based on major U.S. Supreme Decisions: namely, Furman v. Georgia (1972) [mitigating circumstances re: capital punishment]; Atkins v. Virginia (2002) [death qualifying the mental retarded]; Roper v. Simmons (2005) [death qualifying youth offender]; and Miller v. Alabama (2012) [sentencing youth to “life without parole”], as well as the classification, status and treatment of veterans (wounded warriors) and their families in need to clinical services (PTSD, Depression, TBIs, Panic Disorders, Sleep Disorders, Substance Use Disorders, impulsive aggression…). These issues are addressed along with their forensic implications.

Author

• Laurence Armand French, University of New Hampshire