Which axis covers Personality disorders and mental retardation?

• A. Axis I
• B. Axis III
• C. Axis II
• D. Axis IV

Answer: (C)

Think about how the DSM-IV separated disorders into different levels to reflect how they affect a person over time. Personality disorders and intellectual disability (the term used for mental retardation) are enduring patterns and stable functioning, so they’re placed on Axis II. This axis is for long-standing features of a person’s psyche and abilities, rather than the more transient or episodic syndromes.

Axis I covers the primary clinical disorders that can come and go or flare up, such as mood, anxiety, or psychotic disorders. Axis III includes medical conditions that may influence mental health. Axis IV notes psychosocial and environmental problems that impact functioning. Axis V provides a global assessment of functioning. In DSM-5, the five-axis system was collapsed, but historically Axis II held personality disorders and intellectual disability.