Adjustment Disorders

Adjustment disorders are states of subjective distress and emotional disturbance, usually interfering with social functioning and performance, arising in the period of adaptation to a significant life change or a stressful life event. The stressor may have affected the integrity of an individual's social network (bereavement, separation experiences) or the wider system of social supports and values (migration, refugee status), or represented a major developmental transition or crisis (going to school, becoming a parent, failure to attain a cherished personal goal, retirement). Individual predisposition or vulnerability plays an important role in the risk of occurrence and the shaping of the manifestations of adjustment disorders, but it is nevertheless assumed that the condition would not have arisen without the stressor. The manifestations vary and include depressed mood, anxiety or worry (or mixture of these), a feeling of inability to cope, plan ahead, or continue in the present situation, as well as some degree of disability in the performance of daily routine. Conduct disorders may be an associated feature, particularly in adolescents. The predominant feature may be a brief or prolonged depressive reaction, or a disturbance of other emotions and conduc

Adjustment Disorders - DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria, American Psychiatric Association

• The development of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor(s) occurring within 3 months of the onset of the stressor(s).
• These symptoms or behaviors are clinically significant, as evidenced by one or both of the following:
• Marked distress that is out of proportion to the severity or intensity of the stressor, taking into account the external context and the cultural factors that might influence symptom severity and presentation.
• Significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
• The stress-related disturbance does not meet the criteria for another mental disorder and is not merely an exacerbation of a preexisting mental disorder.
• The symptoms do not represent normal bereavement.
• Once the stressor or its consequences have terminated, the symptoms do not persist for more than an additional 6 months.

• Effective Therapies

  This is a very common disorder, but there is little research on the effectiveness of its treatment. Treatment consists mainly of brief psychotherapy. Pharmacotherapy is limited to the symptomatic management of anxiety or insomnia.
  

  Ineffective Therapies

  Vitamins, dietary supplements, and antidepressant medication are all ineffective for this disorder.