multiaxial classification in child psychiatry

Last reviewed 01/2018

A multiaxial system of classification is used in many branches of psychiatry, but it is particularly useful in child psychiatry where disorders are not easily boxed into a single category.

For example, in a popular system the axes used include:

  • clinical psychiatric syndromes
  • specific delays in development
  • intellectual level
  • medical conditions
  • abnormal social situations