DSM-5 eliminated the traditional five-axis system.

• A. True
• B. False
• C. Not applicable
• D. Some axes retained

Answer: (A)

The shift to a nonaxial documentation approach is what the DSM-5 did. Instead of organizing information across five separate axes (clinical disorders, personality disorders/mental retardation, medical conditions, psychosocial/environmental problems, and global functioning), DSM-5 lists the diagnoses with ICD-10-CM codes and notes any psychosocial or environmental factors in a different, non-axial way. The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) score used on Axis V was removed, and there’s no equivalent five-axis structure in the manual. This change aims to streamline diagnoses, improve reliability, and align with ICD coding.

So the statement is true. The other options don’t fit because the DSM-5 did not keep the five-axis format, nor did it leave any axes in place or leave the structure partially intact.