In the DSM-5, schizophrenia is now under the disorder class “Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders.” This replaced the DSM-4’s class “Schizophrenia and Other Disorders.”

The term “spectrum” better describes how people with schizophrenia tend to have a wide range of symptoms that can change over time. Also, every person with schizophrenia has a unique experience of the condition with varying degrees of how severe their symptoms are.

Other psychotic disorders

There are several conditions that fall under the disorder class “Schizophrenia Spectrum and Other Psychotic Disorders.”

This includes:

• Schizophrenia. Schizophrenia is characterized by symptoms that affect a person’s thoughts, behaviors, and ability to interpret reality. These symptoms must last for more than 6 months.
• Schizoaffective disorder. This condition involves a combination of schizophrenia symptoms (typically delusions and hallucinations) and mood disorder symptoms (such as mania or depression).
• Schizophreniform disorder. Someone with this condition has symptoms of schizophrenia that last between 1 and 6 months.
• Brief psychotic disorder. Brief psychotic disorder is a condition where someone has a short-term episode of psychosis brought on by extreme stress. Symptoms last for at least 1 day but less than 1 month.
• Delusional disorder. People with this disorder have delusions that last for at least 1 month without other schizophrenia symptoms. Symptoms can’t be explained by any other condition.
• Substance/medication-induced psychotic disorder. In this case, symptoms of psychosis are brought on by medications or substance use.
• Psychotic disorder due to another medical condition. Someone may be diagnosed with this condition if their symptoms are triggered by a medical illness or traumatic brain injury.

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