Which set of symptom domains includes psychosis, cognitive dysfunction, affective disturbance, and negative symptoms?

• A. Dimensions of dysfunction
• B. Symptom clusters
• C. Clinical syndromes
• D. Endophenotypes

Answer: (A)

Symptom dimensions are a way to describe psychiatric impairment across multiple domains rather than focusing on a single diagnosis. The domains listed—psychosis, cognitive dysfunction, affective disturbance, and negative symptoms—represent distinct areas of dysfunction that can vary independently and influence overall functioning. Describing these as dimensions of dysfunction captures the multi‑domain nature of the illness and how symptoms can differ in severity across people and over time. By contrast, symptom clusters refer to groups of co‑occurring symptoms, clinical syndromes are discrete disease categories, and endophenotypes are biological markers rather than clinical symptom domains.