Introduction to the special issue on diagnoses, dimensions, and DSM-IV: The science of classification.

This special issue grew out of a meeting of the editorial board of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology chaired by Susan Mineka at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in 1989 in New Orleans. At that time the processes were in place for developing the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV), and it was clear that for the first time many psychologists were strongly involved. In addition, committees were completing work on the mental disorders section of the 10th edition of the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10; World Health Organization, 1990), and a concerted effort was underway to make the DSM-IV and ICD-10 as compatible as possible. These developments pointed to something that approaches a worldwide system of nosology for use in both clinical and research endeavors. Quite naturally, these events have resulted in renewed interest in nosology, particularly the scientific basis of our nosological systems. The board felt that a series of invited papers on various scientific issues in this area might be very useful to the field. It also agreed that it would be important to concentrate on the scientific approaches to classification and the scientific underpinnings of the DSM-IV as it approximates some ideal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)