The Power of Labels: Faculty Emily Einstein and Wilson Compton Published in American Journal of Psychiatry
Posted in News | Tagged faculty, publication, research, SUD
When the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders released its Fifth edition (DSM-5), it “eliminated separate abuse and dependence diagnoses to create a single use disorder diagnosis,” adding the criterion of craving to the definition of all substance use disorders (SUDs). This decision, however, did not come without concerns: would changing the definition of an SUD, then, change how many people receive a diagnosis?
Addiction Policy & Practice faculty Emily Einstein, PhD, and Wilson Compton, MD, analyzed existing data on substance use and SUDs to determine whether SUD prevalence would increase under these new criteria; however, they found that there was little to no change in SUD diagnoses under this updated definition. Their work was recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry.