Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood

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The Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood-Revised (DC: 0-3R) is a developmentally based diagnostic manual that provides clinical criteria for categorizing mental health and developmental disorders in infants and toddlers.^[1] It is organized into a five-part axis system.^[2] The book has been translated into several languages, and its model is utilized for the assessment of children up to five years of age.^[3]

The DC 0-3R is intended to be used in tandem with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR), and the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10) of the World Health Organization.^[4] The purpose of the DC 0-3R is the understanding, assessing, diagnosing and treating mental health problems in infants and toddlers by allowing the identification of disorders not addressed in other classification systems.

The DC: 0-3R is organized around three primary principles: 1) that children's psychological functioning unfolds in the context of relationships, 2) that individual differences in temperament and constitutional strengths and vulnerabilities play a major role in how children experience and process events, and 3) that the family's cultural context is important for the understanding of the child's developmental course.^[1]