Adolescent adjustment disorder: Precipitant stressors and distress symptoms of 89 outpatients

Abstract: Objective: Research on adolescent adjustment disorder (AD) is scarce. We characterized adolescent outpatients with AD in psychosocial background and treatment received compared with patients with other non-psychotic disorders (OND). Furthermore, we explored precipitant stressors, distress symptoms and behavioral problems among males and females with AD. Method: Data were collected prospectively on 290 consecutive psychiatric outpatients, aged 12–22 yrs, at a secondary care clinic in Finland. DSM-III-R diagnoses were assigned, based on all available information, at the end of treatment. Results: AD was the second most common diagnosis among non-psychotic patients (31% of 290). Compared to OND-patients, those with AD were predominantly female and had less severe psychosocial impairment. In multivariate comparisons school-related stressors, problems with law and restlessness characterized males, and parental illness and internalizing symptoms females with AD. Intensity and duration of treatment of AD-patients varied widely. Conclusions: Adjustment disorder comprised a common clinical entity among adolescent outpatients. Psychiatric assessment and treatment should be individually targeted by taking into account gender-specific stressors and distress symptoms among young people with AD. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]