**How does the DSM define mental disorder?** Definition of “mental disorder” found in the latest edition of the _DSM_, the _DSM-IV-TR_ (American Psychiatric Association, 2000): - _...a clinically significant behavioral or psychological syndrome or pattern that occurs in an in- dividual and that is associated with present distress (e.g., a painful symptom) or disability (i.e., impairment in one or more important areas of functioning) or with a significantly increased risk of suffering death, pain, disability, or an important loss of freedom. In addition, this syndrome or pattern must not be merely an expectable and culturally sanctioned response to a particular event, for example, the death of a loved one. Whatever its cause, it must currently be considered a manifestation of a behavioral, psychological, or biological dysfunction in the individual. Neither deviant behavior (e.g., political, religious, or sexual) nor conflicts that are primarily between the individual and society are mental disorders unless the deviance or conflict is a symptom of a dysfunction in the individual, as described above. (p. xxxi)_ **The DSM definition is the combination of the above-mentioned concepts of psychopathology. It is subjective** - All of the conceptions of psychopathology described previously can be found to some extent in this definition—statistical deviation (i.e., not “expectable”); maladaptiveness, including distress and disability; social norms violations; and some elements of the harmful dysfunction conception (“a dys- function in the individual”) although without the flavor of evolutionary theory. For this reason, it is a comprehensive, inclusive, and sophisticated conception and probably as good, if not better, than any proposed so far. Nonetheless, it falls prey to the same problems with subjectivity as other conceptions. - For example, what is the meaning of “clinically significant” and how should “clinical significance” be measured? Does clinical significance refer to statistical infrequency, maladaptiveness, or both? How much distress must a person experience or how much disability must a person exhibit before he or she is said to have a mental disorder? Who gets to judge the person’s degree of distress or disability? How do we determine whether or not a particular response to an event is “expectable” or “culturally sanctioned”? Who gets to determine this? How does one determine whether or not deviant behavior or conflicts “are primarily between the individual and society”? What exactly does this mean? What does it mean for a dysfunction to exist or occur “in the individual”? Certainly a biological dysfunction might be said to be literally “in the individual,” but does it make sense to say the same of psychological and behavioral dysfunctions? Is it possible to say that a psychological or behavioral dysfunction can occur “in the individual” apart from the sociocultural and interpersonal milieu in which the person is acting? Clearly, the _DSM_’s conception of mental disorder raises as many questions as do the con- ceptions it was meant to supplant.