background On the basis of clinical experience the author of the essay asserts that the medical files of patients with severe mental illness quite often show multiple psychiatric dsm diagnoses. Overdiagnosing in the form of multiple, false positive dsm diagnoses confuses patients (who then, for instance, ask: ‘Do I have autism or schizophrenia?’), facilitating incorrect treatment indications and possibly leading to stigmatisation. The fact that dimensional diagnostic models have emerged and now co-exist with the dsm cagetorical diagnostic model, can be seen as a risk factor for multiple, false positive dsm diagnoses.
aim To obtain insight into the mechanisms that support the hypothesis that dimensional diagnosis increases the risk of multiple, false positive dsm diagnoses.
method On the basis of a clinical scientific analysis of the principles and application of DSM categorical and dimensional diagnosis, the author addresses factors that support the hypothesis that dimensional diagnosis increases the risk of multiple, false positive dsm diagnoses.
results The application of the principles of dimensional diagnosis to the dsm categorical diagnostic model increases the risk of multiple, false positive dsm diagnoses.
conclusion To prevent multiple, false positive dsm diagnoses, it is of crucial importance that the principles of dimensional diagnosis are not applied to the dsm categorical diagnostic model.