SCHIZOPHRENIA AND RELATED DISORDERS IN DSM-IV - EDITORS INTRODUCTION

The guiding principle behind the development of DSM-IV has been that proposed changes in the current criteria be clearly supported by empirical evidence. The process of gathering such evidence has involved three phases: (1) critical reviews of the existing published literature, (2) analyses of unpublished data bases, and (3) focused and general field trials of proposed criteria sets. This issue of Schizophrenia Bulletin highlights many of the issues that are undergoing evaluation by the psychotic disorders workgroup on schizophrenia and related disorders, and brings together several of the literature reviews and analyses that have been undertaken by and for this group.