ABSTRACT

The criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the third edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-III) by the American Psychiatric Association (1980) reflect an emphasis on specificity in diagnosis. Such specificity has gathered particular strength over the past decade, though not without controversy (e.g, Feighner, Robins, & Guze, 1972; McLermore & Benjamin, 1979; Schacht & Nathan, 1977; Spitzer, Endicott, & Robins, 1975).