One oft-cited criticism of the DSM-5 is that many illnesses seem to occur at the same time; that is, a specific set of symptoms could qualify an individual for more than one diagnosis. This phenomenon, called ________, raises the question of whether the DSM is truly identifying independent conditions as opposed to slightly different variations of the same problem.

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The phenomenon being described is comorbidity, in which an individual can receive multiple diagnoses due to overlapping symptoms. This raises potential concerns about whether the DSM-5 is categorizing distinct disorders or simply separating out variations of a larger problem.

One Oft-Cited Criticism of the DSM-5 Is That Many Illnesses