The major classification system of abnormality used in the Western world comes from the American Psychiatric Association (1994) – it is the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (in its fourth iteration) (DSM-IV). There are various axis to the DSM-IV but Axis I and Axis II are the most important, referring to personality and clinical disorders.
Axis I disorders: disorders of infancy, childhood or adolescence; cognitive disorders such as anemia or dementia; substance related disorders; psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia; mood disorders; anxiety disorders; somatoform disorders (that is, disorders about the body); factitious disorders (in which symptoms are feigned or consciously produced); dissociative disorders (temporary alterations to consciousness); sexual disorders; eating disorders; sleep disorders;
impulse control disorders (such as compulsive stealing or lying); adjustment disorders.
Axis II disorders (types of personality dysfunction): anti-social; avoidant; borderline; histrionic; narcissistic; obsessive-compulsive; paranoid; schizoid; schizotypal.
