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opioid use disorder

in DSM–5, a diagnostic category reflecting disordered use of natural opioids (e.g., morphine), semisynthetic derivatives (e.g., heroin), and synthetic compounds with morphinelike effects (e.g., oxycodone). It combines DSM–IV–TR’s separate abuse and dependence diagnoses for these substances, thereby removing opioid abuse and opioid dependence as distinct entities. Mild, moderate, and severe cases of opioid use disorder are determined according to the number of symptoms that individuals using these substances may present (e.g., craving; drug-seeking behavor; social and other dysfunction caused by opioid use; tolerance; withdrawal, etc.); the number ranges from a minimum of two symptoms for mild cases to more than six for severe.

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Psychology term of the day

February 22nd 2025

Gesellschaft

Gesellschaft

n. a type of society (the literal meaning of this German word) or social group in which people feel relatively isolated from each other. Their relationships are primarily contractual in nature, being guided chiefly by rational self-interest and the logic of the marketplace. Compare Gemeinschaft. [first described in 1887 by German sociologist Ferdinand Julius Tönnies (1855–1936)]