A Transdiagnostic Temperament-Phenotype Profile Approach to Emotional Disorder Classification: An Update

Although the emotional disorders (EDs) have achieved favorable reliability in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), accumulating evidence continues to underscore limitations in ED diagnostic validity. In particular, taxometric, comorbidity, and other descriptive psychopathology studies of transdiagnostic phenotypes suggest that the EDs may be best conceptualized as dimensional entities that are more similar than different. Despite optimism that the fifth edition of the DSM (DSM-5) would constitute a meaningful shift toward dimensional ED assessment and diagnosis, most changes contribute little movement in that direction. In the present report, we summarize past and anticipate persisting (i.e., in DSM-5) limitations of a purely categorical approach to ED diagnosis. We then review our alternative dimensional-categorical profile approach to ED assessment and classification, including preliminary evidence in support of its validity and presentation of two ED profile case examples using our newly developed Multidimensional Emotional Disorder Inventory. We end by discussing the transdiagnostic treatment implications of our profile approach to ED classification and directions for future research.