TY - JOUR
T1 - Are there relational disorders? A harmful dysfunction perspective
T2 - Comment on the special section
AU - Wakefield, Jerome C.
PY - 2006/9
Y1 - 2006/9
N2 - Can relational disorders exist as genuine medical disorders, even when there is no disorder in either individual participating in the relationship? Using the harmful dysfunction analysis of the concept of disorder as a framework, this comment on the special section on Relational Disorders (September 2006 issue of the Journal of Family Psychology) presents the argument that relational disorders do indeed exist. The harmful dysfunction analysis holds that disorders are harmful failures of biologically selected functions. The position argued for here is that there are evolutionarily selected functions that depend for their performance on the nature of the interaction between individuals and that these relational functions can fail, even when both individuals are normal, because of mismatches between normal variations. Thus, there are genuine relational dysfunctions that, when harmful, are relational disorders. Indeed, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) currently misclassifies some sexual relational disorders as individual disorders.
AB - Can relational disorders exist as genuine medical disorders, even when there is no disorder in either individual participating in the relationship? Using the harmful dysfunction analysis of the concept of disorder as a framework, this comment on the special section on Relational Disorders (September 2006 issue of the Journal of Family Psychology) presents the argument that relational disorders do indeed exist. The harmful dysfunction analysis holds that disorders are harmful failures of biologically selected functions. The position argued for here is that there are evolutionarily selected functions that depend for their performance on the nature of the interaction between individuals and that these relational functions can fail, even when both individuals are normal, because of mismatches between normal variations. Thus, there are genuine relational dysfunctions that, when harmful, are relational disorders. Indeed, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) currently misclassifies some sexual relational disorders as individual disorders.
KW - DSM
KW - Diagnosis
KW - Harmful dysfunction
KW - Mental disorder
KW - Relational disorder
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U2 - 10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.423
DO - 10.1037/0893-3200.20.3.423
M3 - Article
C2 - 16937999
AN - SCOPUS:33748438826
SN - 0893-3200
VL - 20
SP - 423
EP - 427
JO - Journal of Family Psychology
JF - Journal of Family Psychology
IS - 3
ER -