Synonyms
Stress reaction
Short Description or Definition
Adjustment disorders are defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5; American Psychiatric Association 2013) by patterns of clinically significant behavioral or emotional symptoms related to a distinct stressor. The behavioral or emotional response is usually disruptive to everyday functioning, disproportionate to the intensity or severity of the stressor, and must begin within 3 months of the stressor’s onset. Symptoms do not last for longer than 6 months from the time the stressor or its consequences have resolved. The adjustment disorder may be characterized by depressed mood, anxiety, mixed anxiety and depressed mood, disturbance of conduct, mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct, or otherwise unspecified. The adjustment disorder is specified to be “acute” if the pattern of response lasts less than 6 months or “persistent” if longer than 6 months. Adjustment disorders are...
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington: American Psychiatric Association Publishing.
Arends, I., Bruinvels, D. J., Rebergen, D. S., Nieuwenhuijsen, K., Madan, I., Neumeyer-Gromen, A., Bültmann, U., & Verbeek, J. H. (2012). Interventions to facilitate return to work in adults with adjustment disorders. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 12, CD006389.
Casey, P. (2014). Adjustment disorder: New developments. Current Psychiatry Reports, 16(6), 1–8.
Casey, P., & Bailey, S. (2011). Adjustment disorders: The state of the art. World Psychiatry, 10(1), 11–18.
Kryzhanovskaya, L., & Canterbury, R. (2001). Suicidal behavior in patients with adjustment disorders. Crisis: The Journal of Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention, 22(3), 125.
Pelkonen, M., Marttunen, M., Henriksson, M., & Lönnqvist, J. (2005). Suicidality in adjustment disorder. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 14(3), 174–180.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature
About this entry
Cite this entry
Klyce, D.W. (2018). Adjustment Disorder. In: Kreutzer, J.S., DeLuca, J., Caplan, B. (eds) Encyclopedia of Clinical Neuropsychology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_9183
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-57111-9_9183
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-57110-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-57111-9
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences