The diagnostic category of adjustment disorders is characterized by an emotional response to a stressful event. Typically, the stressor involves financial issues, medical illness, or relationship problems. It is one of the few diagnostic categories in which an external stressful event is linked to the development of symptoms. An adjustment disorder is expected to remit soon after the stressor ceases or, if it persists, a new level of adaptation is achieved.

The development of symptoms as a result of difficult events is widely considered part of the general human experience. Thus, the diagnosis of adjustment disorder is often seen as far less stigmatizing than other psychiatric disorders because symptoms develop in response to an event and are often short lived. Furthermore, the diagnosis is not viewed by medical insurance carriers as a preexisting illness the same way that other diagnoses are.

The diagnostic category of adjustment disorders is widely used among clinicians in practice. However, adjustment disorders can be seen as problematic. The diagnostic criteria describe a syndrome in which a stressful event leads to the development of a symptom complex. However, there are no criteria within the diagnostic construct to qualify or quantify the stressor that leads to the adjustment disorder. It is also difficult to in clinical practice to link an event to the development of a symptom complex. Issues such as these raise questions about the diagnosis of adjustment disorder in general and have contributed to the lack of academic investigation.

Students should study the questions and answers below for a useful review of these disorders.