The chapter on anxiety disorders no longer includes obsessive-compulsive disorder (whichis in the new chapter “Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders”) or posttraumaticstress disorder (PTSD) and acute stress disorder (which are in the new chapter “Trauma andStressor-Related Disorders”).
Changes in criteria for specific phobia and social anxiety disorder (social phobia) include deletion of the requirement that individuals over age 18 years recognize that their anxiety is excessive or unreasonable. Instead, the anxiety must beout of proportion to the actual danger or threat in the situation, after cultural contextual factors are taken into account.
The 6-month duration is now extended to all ages.
Panic attacks can now be listed as a specifier that is applicable to all DSM-5 disorders.
Panic disorder and agoraphobia are unlinked in DSM-5. Thus, the former DSM-IV diagnoses ofpanic disorder with agoraphobia, panic disorder without agoraphobia, and agoraphobiawithout history of panic disorder are now replaced by two diagnoses, panic disorder and agoraphobia,each with separate criteria.
The “generalized” specifier for social anxiety disorder has been deleted and replaced with a “performance only” specifier.
Separation anxiety disorder and selective mutism are now classified as anxiety disorders. The wording of the criteria is modified to more adequately represent the expression of separation anxiety symptoms in adulthood. Also, in contrast to DSM-IV, the diagnostic criteria no longer specify that onset must be before age 18 years, and a duration statement—“typically lasting for 6 months or more”—has been added for adults to minimize overdiagnosis of transient fears.
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