Beyond the impact of the proposed changes on prevalence and diagnostic validity, the effects will be felt by researchers working on datasets that lack items necessary to address craving, having been designed for previous iterations of the DSM. It is unclear whether the potential slight improvements in reliability and validity offset the probable costs to researchers whose data might be considered “out of date” (Kendler and Zachar, 2008). The ability of the research community to develop cumulative information about a diagnostic category is disrupted when criteria are changed. This might suggest a conservative approach to DSM revision, where change is made only in the presence of compelling data to support the superiority of the new definition off the older one that is to be replaced.
