Find over 25,000 psychological definitions


substance use disorder

a catchall diagnosis encompassing varying degrees of excessive use of a substance. In DSM–5, the diagnosis combines and replaces DSM–IV–TR’s substance abuse and substance dependence as distinct classifications, with subordinate categories of specific “use disorders” following the same pattern of consolidation: alcohol use disorder, for example, combines and replaces alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence. Other use disorders whose diagnostic criteria in DSM–5 subsume the former abuse–dependence distinction include those involving caffeine; cannabis; hallucinogens (e.g., phencyclidine use disorder); inhalants; opioids; sedative, hypnotics, or anxiolytics; stimulants (e.g., amphetamine, cocaine); and tobacco.

Browse dictionary by letter

a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z

Psychology term of the day

November 16th 2024

lifetime personality

lifetime personality

the pattern of behavior that dominates a person’s life between birth and death. [from the personality theory of Henry Alexander Murray]