Abstract:
For my honors thesis, I explored the discussion in the field of Psychological Science over the current and prospective Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) and the growing concern over existing biases and prejudices in that manual. Particularly, I focused on how gender identity disorder is presented in the text complaint from the Society of Indian Psychologists to Dr. David M. Kupfer, M.D., which is attached to this document and the original basis for my thesis.
My thesis is a thematic analysis. I wanted to complete this project to further my own understanding of how a minority population, i.e. the LGBT community, is affected by the DSM and what implications and consequences the gender identity disorder diagnosis could potentially have. I also wanted to see how experts in my field have formed their specific opinions related to these issues and what resources they have to substantiate their perspective. This broadened my familiarity with the DSM and also gave me experience in interviewing various faculty members at the university who are more qualified to speak about gender disorders and evaluate the DSM from a professional and multicultural viewpoint. This also allowed me to further develop interview experience and conduct qualitative research.
I created this project for those studying psychology to realize that our discipline is not unaffected by prejudice. I expect that they will learn that the field has varying opinions in regards to the most widely used classification system of mental pathologies.
