Adjustment Disorder - Signs and Symptoms

Signs and Symptoms

According to the DSM IV-TR, the development of the emotional or behavioral symptoms of this diagnosis have to occur within three months of the onset of the identifiable stressor(s) Some emotional signs of AD are sadness, hopelessness, lack of enjoyment, crying spells, nervousness, anxiety, worry, desperation, trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, feeling overwhelmed and thoughts of suicide. Some behavioral signs of AD are fighting, reckless driving, ignoring important tasks such as bills or homework, avoiding family or friends, performing poorly in school, skipping school, or vandalizing property.

Suicidal behavior is prominent among people with AD of all ages and up to one fifth of adolescent suicide victims may have an adjustment disorder. Bronish and Hecht (1989) found that 70% of a series of patients with AD attempted suicide immediately before their index admission and they remitted faster than a comparison group with major depression. Asnis et al. (1993) found that AD patients report persistent ideation or suicide attempts less frequently than those diagnosed with major depression. According to a study on 82 AD patients at a clinic, Bolu et al. (2012) found that 22 (26.8%) of these patients were admitted due to suicidal attempt, consistent with previous findings. In addition, it was found that 15 of these 22 patients chose suicidal methods that involved high chances of being saved. Henriksson et al. (2005) states statistically that the stressors are of one half related to parental issues and one third in peer issues.