Kriegler, Susan2015-11-022015-11Kriegler, S 2015, 'A social constructivist perspective on the potential relevance of selected DSM-5 disorders for South African children and youth', Children and Society, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 604-614.0951-0605 (print)1099-0860 (online)10.1111/chso.12097http://hdl.handle.net/2263/50296In South Africa, careless implementation of child psychiatry‟s biomedical model of „mental disorder‟ could stigmatise children and youth who have been made vulnerable by the lingering effects of apartheid - poverty and malnutrition, violence and abuse, and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. A focus on DSM-5 category changes – regarding posttraumatic stress disorder and ADHD - demonstrates that these psychiatric labels are impracticable and irrelevant in a post-colonial developing country where mental health care is delivered in the context of scarce services and unequal access. A social constructivist perspective enables us to broaden policy decisions and suggest directions for research.en© 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd and National Children’s Bureau. This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article : A social constructivist perspective on the potential relevance of selected DSM-5 disorders for South African children and youth, Children & Society, vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 604-614, 2015. doi : 10.1111/chso.12097. The definite version is available at : http://onlinelibrary.wiley.comjournal/10.1111/(ISSN)1099-0860Child psychiatryDSM-5Mental healthPovertySocial constructivismStigmatisationViolenceSouth Africa (SA)Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)Acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)HIV and AIDSEducation articles SDG-03SDG-03: Good health and well-beingEducation articles SDG-04SDG-04: Quality educationEducation articles SDG-10SDG-10: Reduced inequalitiesEducation articles SDG-16SDG-16: Peace, justice and strong institutionsPostprint Article