Discussion of B.P. Dhorenwend: “Psychology, psychologists and psychiatric epidemiology”

ABSTRACT The author emphasizes the importance of earlier epidemiological studies and finds it a rather one‐sided view that psychiatric epidemiology, prior to DSM‐III and the ECA studies was in a pre‐scientific stage. In addition to the areas of interface between psychology and psychiatric epidemiology mentioned by Dohrenwend he adds the following areas: crosscultural studies, studies of gene‐environment interactions, the epidemiological validation of diagnostic and classification systems, and the study of the impact of various treatment and service systems and therapeutic approaches on the epidemiology of mental disorders.