ABSTRACT
Conceptual, historical, methodological, psychometric, and substantive issues in the classification of psychiatric and personality disorders (PD) are reviewed to provide background for examination of the Alternative Model for Personality Disorders (AMPD) of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5; APA, 2013) in this and subsequent chapters. The AMPD innovates PD nosology through dimensionalization of diagnosis. In addition to this advance, the AMPD reflects multiple personality constructs and paradigms of personality assessment. A construct validity point of view concludes the AMPD and is a pan-theoretic map of PD with scientific and clinical heuristic advantages.
