Summary
The factors that determined the decision of the APA to delete homosexuality from DSM-II were summarized as follows:
1) Gay activists had a profound influence on psychiatric thinking.
2) A sincere belief was held by liberal-minded and compassionate psychiatrists that listing homosexuality as a psychiatric disorder supported and reinforced prejudice against homosexuals. Removal of the term from the diagnostic manual was viewed as a humane, progressive act.
3) There was an acceptance of new criteria to define psychiatric conditions. Only those disorders that caused a patient to suffer or that resulted in adjustment problems were thought to be appropriate for inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Copyright © NARTH. All Rights Reserved.