ICD-10 vs. DSM-IV

[nathhan.]

hey guys i know it's a simple concept but i'm kind of in the middle with this one, referring to text books as well as some posts here, i'm trying to figure out the differences between the two and which is better of to use.

[Anon123]

You don't need to know which one is "better"; if that were the case then there would only be one used!

But rather just the differences, the two I would use are:
-The DSM has details about the prognosis and prevalance of disorders, while the ICD does not
-ICD distinguishes between mental and behavioural disorders, while the DSM uses mental disorders as an umbrella term for both

[spikey]

Do both of them not acknowledge social/cultural factors?

[amilss]

Only the dsm would list social or cultural factors that are of concern (in axis IV) when making a diagnoses. Someone correct me if im wrong

[MeLucky]

From a topic I made 2 months ago lol

Hey guys, was just reading through the Grivas and Oxford psych books and I'm finding it a bit hard to differentiate between the ICD and DSM significantly.
The main differences I've noted so far are:
-ICD covers a wider range of health problems then the DSM as it classifies both physical and mental illnesses.
-ICD distinguishes between mental and behavioural disorders whilst DSM uses the term 'mental disorders' to cover both types of disorders
-DSM published by the American Psychiatric Association, ICD published by the WHO(doubt we need to know this) lol
-ICD primarily used in Europe-useless info?
-Four different versions of ICD for different purposes. The multiaxial version has only 3 axes which are different to the 5 axes contained in DSM's multiaxial system.
-ICD is less detailed than the DSM.
-Many categories in the DSM may be grouped into one category in the ICD(one of the reasons it is less detailed)

From the textbooks, it doesn't seem like we need to know much about the ICD compared to the DSM but I'm a curious person

So is there anything major I missed out on?

[nathhan.]

i was under the impression that the ICD is more detailed as it measures the severity of symptoms as opposed to simply classifying a disorder through a categorical approach.
i have no idea if i'm correct or not

[MeLucky]

From the Grivas book,
'Although the ICD is used in the same way as the DSM and helps a mental health professional decide whether or not a person can be diagnosed with a mental disorder, the ICD is a less-detailed categorical system than the DSM. For example, the ICD provides a detailed description and diagnostic guidelines for each disorder, but it typically does not provide information about the course, prognosis and prevalence of each disorder as the DSM does.'
Also, it is a categorical system, so it does classify disorders. It isn't under the dimensional approach.