Domains of Functioning

Domains of Functioning

Each person’s unique personality style is reflected in the various domains in which the person functions. DSM-IV’s Axis V, the Global Assessment of Functioning, provides a 100-point scale with which to rate a person’s overall level of adaptation. It pro-vides a useful global rating of adaptive function that assesses the degree of symptoms and the capacity to function in social and occupational spheres (American Psychiatric Association, 1994). These domains are somewhat overlapping. Oldham and Morris’ model of normal personality derived from the DSM categories provides a framework for thinking about how different person-ality styles predispose people to emphasize or minimize the importance they assign each domain and to function more or less effectively in each area (Oldham and Morris, 1995).