DSM-5 Disorders Overview Study Guide: 94 Flashcards on What Changed From DSM-IV
Learn the DSM-5 as a changelog: renamed, merged, deleted and added diagnoses in 94 flashcards (deck NS3564), with sample cards, key numbers and study tips.
Studying. But it's also a video game. 🎮
Flashcards, quizzes and games that make you actually remember.
Posted by
FLIP IT TeamRelated reading
Learn CBT, DBT, ACT, EMDR, narrative therapy and more with 38 real flashcards, a contrast table for look-alike therapies, and 3 card fixes.
Memorize Psychotropic Medications: A 58-Card Psychopharmacology Study Guide
Learn psychotropic medications fast: SSRIs, benzodiazepines, antipsychotics and opioid blockers mapped by receptor, with 58 real flashcards and study fixes.
The DSM-5 is not a list of disorders you can memorize alphabetically. It is a set of changes from DSM-IV: renamed diagnoses, merged categories, deleted exclusions, new specifiers. That is exactly what exams test, and exactly what the Mental Health: DSM-5 Disorders Overview deck (code NS3564, 94 cards) drills. Here is how to get through it efficiently.
Study this deck: Mental Health: DSM-5 Disorders Overview
1 / 10DSM-5
Tap the card for the answer · swipe right if you knew it, left if not
Study the DSM-5 as a changelog, not a catalogue
Almost every card in the deck is framed as "what changed?". Group the 94 cards into four kinds of change and you will spot the pattern fast:
- Renames — mental retardation → intellectual disability; dysthymia → persistent depressive disorder; primary insomnia → insomnia disorder; somatoform → somatic symptom and related disorders; gender identity disorder → gender dysphoria; dementia → major or mild neurocognitive disorder.
- Mergers — four DSM-IV diagnoses (classic autism, Asperger, childhood disintegrative disorder, PDD-NOS) became autism spectrum disorder with three severity levels; substance abuse + dependence became a single substance use disorder per substance; somatization + undifferentiated somatoform became somatic symptom disorder.
- Deletions — the bereavement exclusion, the five schizophrenia subtypes, the multiaxial system (Axis V / GAF replaced by the WHODAS), amenorrhea for anorexia, sexual aversion disorder, polysubstance diagnoses, "recurrent legal problems" as a substance criterion.
- Additions — DMDD, binge eating disorder, hoarding and excoriation disorders, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, gambling and tobacco use disorders, caffeine and cannabis withdrawal, genito-pelvic pain/penetration disorder, and in DSM-5-TR: prolonged grief disorder.
Sample cards from the deck
| Front | Back |
|---|---|
| What replaced the five-axis system in DSM-5? | Discarded; all disorders listed in Section II, with WHODAS replacing Axis V (GAF) |
| ADHD age of onset in DSM-5 | Changed from 7 years old to 12 years old |
| How many symptoms are required for catatonia? | 3 of 12 |
| What became a specifier for all DSM-5 disorders? | Panic attack |
| Duration requirement for phobias and anxiety disorders | At least 6 months, now for everyone (not only children) |
| Where did trichotillomania move? | From impulse-control disorders to obsessive-compulsive and related disorders |
| PTSD diagnostic clusters | Reorganized from three clusters to four; Criterion A2 eliminated |
| Bulimia / binge eating frequency | From twice weekly for 6 months to once weekly over the last 3 months |
| Six personality disorders in the AMPD | Antisocial, avoidant, borderline, narcissistic, obsessive-compulsive, schizotypal |
| Three DSM-5-TR additions | Prolonged grief disorder, unspecified mood disorder, stimulant-induced mild NCD |
Everything the 94 cards cover
Structure of the manual (Sections I, II, III; conditions for further study such as attenuated psychosis syndrome), neurodevelopmental disorders (ASD, ADHD, specific learning disorder, motor disorders, communication disorders), schizophrenia spectrum and schizoaffective disorder, bipolar specifiers (with mixed features, anxious distress), depressive disorders (DMDD, PDD, PMDD), anxiety (panic disorder and agoraphobia now separate, separation anxiety and selective mutism reclassified), OCD-related disorders and the insight specifier, trauma- and stressor-related disorders (reactive attachment, disinhibited social engagement, adjustment disorders), dissociative disorders (fugue as a specifier), feeding and eating disorders (pica, rumination, ARFID), sleep-wake disorders (obstructive and central sleep apnea, non-24-hour sleep-wake type, REM sleep behavior disorder, restless legs), sexual dysfunctions and paraphilic disorders (behavior vs disorder, "in a controlled environment" / "in remission"), disruptive disorders (ODD's three symptom groups, conduct disorder's limited prosocial emotion specifier, intermittent explosive disorder), substance-related and addictive disorders, neurocognitive disorders, personality disorders (ten types retained, AMPD hybrid model), plus the politics: a 27-member task force, about 68% with pharmaceutical ties, Robert Spitzer's criticism of nondisclosure agreements, and test-retest reliability field trials.
Two tips that actually help with this deck
- Learn the numbers as pairs. The deck contains a handful of numeric cards (3 of 12 catatonia symptoms, onset 7 → 12 for ADHD, 6 months for anxiety and sexual dysfunctions, 3 ASD levels, 4 PTSD clusters, 10 personality disorders, 27 task-force members). Write them on one index card; they are the most frequently missed items.
- Flip the cards backwards. Because most fronts start with "What changed…", study the back side first and ask yourself which DSM-IV construct it replaced. Passing in both directions is what makes the changelog stick.
Open Flip It at flip-it.app, search the deck code NS3564 in the library and let spaced repetition schedule the 94 cards for you.
Related decks on Flip It
Ready to learn faster? 🚀
Join FLIP IT for free and turn studying into a game.