According to DSM-5, which additional requirement must be fulfilled before diagnosing schizoaffective disorder in a patient who has had both psychotic and mood episodes?

• A Psychotic symptoms must occur exclusively during mood episodes
• B Mood symptoms must have been present continuously throughout the entire illness
• C The patient must never have met full criteria for a major depressive or manic episode
• D Delusions or hallucinations must have been present for at least 2 weeks in the absence of a major mood episode ✓

Explanation

DSM-5 requires that delusions or hallucinations persist for at least 2 weeks without a concurrent major depressive or manic episode; this criterion separates schizoaffective disorder from a mood disorder with psychotic features. Option A describes psychotic depression or bipolar disorder with mood-congruent psychosis, option B contradicts the defining episodic relationship between mood and psychotic symptoms, and option C is wrong because full mood episodes are required components of schizoaffective disorder itself.

Reference: Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), 5th ed.

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