Current concept of anxiety: implications from Darwin to the DSM-V for the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder

Fernanda Corrêa Coutinho; Gisele Pereira Dias; Mário Cesar do Nascimento Bevilaqua; Patricia Franca Gardino; Bernard Pimentel Rangé; Antonio Egidio Nardi

doi:10.1586/ern.10.101

Current concept of anxiety: implications from Darwin to the DSM-V for the diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder

Expert Rev Neurother. 2010 Aug;10(8):1307-20. doi: 10.1586/ern.10.101.

Authors

Fernanda Corrêa Coutinho¹, Gisele Pereira Dias, Mário Cesar do Nascimento Bevilaqua, Patricia Franca Gardino, Bernard Pimentel Rangé, Antonio Egidio Nardi

Affiliation

¹ nstitute of Psychology, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. f.coutinhosouza@uol.com.br

PMID: 20690210
DOI: 10.1586/ern.10.101

Abstract

This article proposes a revision of the historical evolution of the concepts of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). Currently, Darwin's evolutionary theory is the hegemonic paradigm for modern science and influences research on mental disorders. Throughout the 20th Century, the editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM; American Psychiatric Association) have changed the diagnostic criteria for GAD, reflecting the prevailing psychiatric understanding of this disorder. The prevalence and symptoms of major depression and GAD show the fragility of the categorical conception of these conditions. Differences in cultural views towards anxiety disorders also suggest that anxiety cannot have a uniform definition. This article provides contributions for reflecting future guidelines concerning the diagnostic criteria for GAD in DSM-V.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Anxiety / diagnosis*
Anxiety / psychology*
Anxiety Disorders / diagnosis*
Anxiety Disorders / psychology*
Depressive Disorder / diagnosis
Depressive Disorder / psychology
Diagnosis, Differential
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders*
Humans