Which disorder is an emotional disturbance caused by ongoing stressors within the range of common experience?

Which disorder is an emotional disturbance caused by ongoing stressors within the range of common experience?

• A. Adjustment Disorder
• B. Paranoid Personality Disorder
• C. Schizotypal Personality Disorder
• D. Antisocial Personality Disorder

Answer: (A)

Adjustment to stress fits the scenario: an emotional disturbance arising in response to identifiable stressors that are common in everyday life. This condition appears within about three months of the onset of the stressor and involves distress that is out of proportion to the situation or impairment in functioning at work, school, or in relationships. It is not better explained by another mental disorder, and the symptoms tend to lessen once the stressor ends or with appropriate support and coping. That’s why this option best matches the description given. The other disorders describe enduring personality patterns or more pervasive disturbances not specifically tied to a recognizable, everyday stressor. Paranoid Personality Disorder centers on pervasive distrust and suspicion; Schizotypal Personality Disorder involves odd or eccentric thinking and behavior; Antisocial Personality Disorder features a pattern of disregard for others’ rights. These do not primarily arise as an emotional disturbance triggered by common life stressors, which is the hallmark of Adjustment Disorder.

Adjustment to stress fits the scenario: an emotional disturbance arising in response to identifiable stressors that are common in everyday life. This condition appears within about three months of the onset of the stressor and involves distress that is out of proportion to the situation or impairment in functioning at work, school, or in relationships. It is not better explained by another mental disorder, and the symptoms tend to lessen once the stressor ends or with appropriate support and coping. That’s why this option best matches the description given.

The other disorders describe enduring personality patterns or more pervasive disturbances not specifically tied to a recognizable, everyday stressor. Paranoid Personality Disorder centers on pervasive distrust and suspicion; Schizotypal Personality Disorder involves odd or eccentric thinking and behavior; Antisocial Personality Disorder features a pattern of disregard for others’ rights. These do not primarily arise as an emotional disturbance triggered by common life stressors, which is the hallmark of Adjustment Disorder.