Axis IV

Axis IV

A classification dimension used with Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) for psychosocial stressors (death, divorce, loss of job, etc.) and other problems—e.g., related to primary support group, social environment, education, occupation, housing, economics, access to healthcare or related to the legal system/crime.

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Axis IV

Psychiatry A dimension used with DSM-IV for psychosocial stressors–death, divorce, loss of job, etc in the form of problems; primary support group problems, social environment problems, educational problems, occupational problems, housing problems, economic problems, problems with access to health care, problems related to legal system/crime. See DSM-IV, Multiaxial system.

McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.