It is shown that the fourth axis of DSM-III is heir to the so-called Life Eventresearch, in which an attempt is made to produce objective quantifications of life stress. Objectively weighed life stress is held responsible for causing psychiatrie disorders.
The etiological role of the subjective, unconsciously perceived meaning of events is denied.
Diagnostic or therapeutic strategies in psychiatry based on this concept are biased, as is demonstrated by means of a fundamental paper of van Praag (1978). The use of the fourth axis of DSM III should be restricted to correlative epidemiologie research. It is worthless for diagnostics in the case of an individual psychiatrie patient.