It is a sign of the inadequacy of our current
knowledge of personality disorders that both the American Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual (DSM) and its international counterpart, the ICD, maintain a
"Personality Disorders Not Otherwise Specified (NOS)" diagnostic
category. It is a catch-all, meaningless, "diagnosis", a testament to
the diagnostician's helplessness and ignorance in the face of human complexity
which often defies neat classification.
Even the rudiments of this diagnostic category are in dispute. There is no
agreement as to what traits and behaviors it applies to. The ICD, for instance,
includes the Narcissistic Personality Disorder in the NOS category, insisting
that it is not a full-fledged personality disorder.
The NOS diagnosis is a laundry list of all personality-related
dysfunctions, signs, symptoms, and complaints that do not fit a specific
personality disorder. Some people satisfy one or more diagnostic criteria of a
few personality disorders ("mixed personality"), but do not run the
full gamut of any of them. The only requirement is that the personality be
somehow impaired and cause distress and dysfunctions in one or more important
areas of life: social, occupational, sexual, interpersonal, and so on.
Personality disorders not yet recognized by the DSM Committee - e.g.,
depressive, negativistic, or passive-aggressive - are also NOS.
Many additional Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about Personality Disorders - click HERE!
Watch: Related Videos by Prof. Vaknin
Ranked by relevance to this article — start with #1, scroll right for more
-
1
Abolish Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) in DSM V?
-
2
Shocking Trends: DSM-6 Corrupted (21:17); Your Therapist: a Cop? (22:38)
-
3
Future of Personality Disorders: ICD Revolutionary, DSM Craven
-
4
Sociopath? No Such Thing! (Only Antisocial, Psychopath) (Conference Presentation)
-
5
DSM V Gets Narcissistic Personality Disorder Partly Right
-
6
DSM V Alternative Model for Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)
-
7
Covert, Women Narcissists Make It Into NEW DSM 5-TR
-
8
Normal Personality and Personality Disorders