<P> Child and adolescent psychiatry sometimes uses specific manuals in addition to the DSM and ICD . The Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood (DC: 0 - 3) was first published in 1994 by Zero to Three to classify mental health and developmental disorders in the first four years of life . It has been published in 9 languages . The Research Diagnostic criteria - Preschool Age (RDC - PA) was developed between 2000 and 2002 by a task force of independent investigators with the goal of developing clearly specified diagnostic criteria to facilitate research on psychopathology in this age group . The French Classification of Child and Adolescent Mental Disorders (CFTMEA), operational since 1983, is the classification of reference for French child psychiatrists . </P> <P> The ICD and DSM classification schemes have achieved widespread acceptance in psychiatry . A survey of 205 psychiatrists, from 66 different countries across all continents, found that ICD - 10 was more frequently used and more valued in clinical practice and training, while the DSM - IV was more frequently used in clinical practice in the United States and Canada, and was more valued for research, with accessibility to either being limited, and usage by other mental health professionals, policy makers, patients and families less clear...A primary care (e.g. general or family physician) version of the mental disorder section of ICD - 10 has been developed (ICD - 10 - PHC) which has also been used quite extensively internationally . A survey of journal articles indexed in various biomedical databases between 1980 and 2005 indicated that 15,743 referred to the DSM and 3,106 to the ICD . </P> <P> In Japan, most university hospitals use either the ICD or DSM . ICD appears to be the somewhat more used for research or academic purposes, while both were used equally for clinical purposes . Other traditional psychiatric schemes may also be used . </P> <P> The classification schemes in common usage are based on separate (but may be overlapping) categories of disorder schemes sometimes termed "neo-Kraepelinian" (after the psychiatrist Kraepelin) which is intended to be atheoretical with regard to etiology (causation). These classification schemes have achieved some widespread acceptance in psychiatry and other fields, and have generally been found to have improved inter-rater reliability, although routine clinical usage is less clear . Questions of validity and utility have been raised, both scientifically and in terms of social, economic and political factors--notably over the inclusion of certain controversial categories, the influence of the pharmaceutical industry, or the stigmatizing effect of being categorized or labelled . </P>

What is the primary reason the dsm-5 is used to diagnose mental disorders