Development of DSM-III
As had been the case for the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, First Edition and Second Edition (DSM-I) and (DSM-II), the development of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Third Edition (DSM-III) was coordinated with the development of the next version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), ICD-9, which was published in 1975 and implemented in 1978. Work began on DSM-III in 1974, with publication in 1980.
DSM-III introduced a number of important methodological innovations, including explicit diagnostic criteria, a multiaxial system, and a descriptive approach that attempted to be neutral with respect to theories of etiology. This effort was facilitated by extensive empirical work on the construction and validation of explicit diagnostic criteria and the development of semistructured interviews.
ICD-9 did not include diagnostic criteria or a multiaxial system largely because the primary function of this international system was to outline categories for the collection of basic health statistics. In contrast, DSM-III was developed with the additional goal of providing a medical nomenclature for clinicians and researchers. Because of dissatisfaction across all of medicine with the lack of specificity in ICD-9, a decision was made to modify it for use in the United States, resulting in ICD-9-CM (for Clinical Modification). The ICD-9-CM is still in use today.