Adjustment disorder in children and adolescents: what it is, symptoms and types

When an adult goes through a major life change, he or she is expected to adjust and move on with life after going through a period of adjustment. The same happens with children and adolescents experiencing major changes in their lives: They are expected to adapt appropriately.

However, like some adults, they may have difficulty adjusting to new circumstances, children and adolescents may also have a hard time adjusting to new changes.

In this article we will talk about adjustment disorder in children and adolescents. First, we will see what is adjustment disorder, what are its symptoms and, finally, the subtypes.

• Related article: "Child therapy: what is it and what are its benefits"

What is Childhood and Adolescent Adjustment Disorder?

An adjustment disorder is an unhealthy emotional or behavioral reaction to a stressful event or change in a person's life. The response occurs within three months of the stressful event.

Some events that can cause this problem in a child or adolescent are:

• A move
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• Change school or institute
• Death of one or both parents, brother, grandparent or other person important to the child or adolescent
• Divorce or separation of parents
• Death of a pet
• Birth of a new brother or sister
• A sudden illness in the child or a family member
• A chronic illness in the child or a family member

In the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), adjustment disorder is described as "the presence of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor that occurs within three months of the onset of the factor stressful ". In addition to exposure to one or more stressors, the following criteria must be present:

• The distress experienced is greater than expected in response to the stressor.
• The symptoms must be clinically significant.
• The distress and impairment are related to the stressor and are not an escalation of an existing mental health disorder or part of a duel normal.

• You may be interested in: "Types of stress and their triggers"

Symptoms of adjustment disorder

Adjustment disorder affects many children and adolescents, so it is important to identify the symptoms of this disorder and help the child or adolescent who is suffering from it. Only in this way can you receive the most appropriate treatment.

It is important to note that children and adolescents often have different symptoms than adults. The main difference is that children and adolescents tend to have more symptoms that affect easily observable behavior, such as misbehaving. Adults, on the other hand, have more symptoms depressive.

Symptoms of adjustment disorder may include severe anxiety, decreased esteem, deterioration of coping skills, irritability, fights with peers, isolation from family and friends and a tendency to miss school or institute, among others.

In the same way, children with adjustment disorder may have trouble sleeping or recurring crying spells. They may also experience episodes of anxiety or depression.

Adolescents with an adjustment disorder, on the other hand, are more likely to develop chronic depression and anxiety. Many teens use drugs or alcohol to cope with stress or anxiety. However, regular use of these types of substances can mask a mental health problem that needs to be addressed.

In addition, adjustment disorder interferes with the daily functioning of the person, that is, that the child or adolescent cannot function adequately in any of the areas of her life (school, social, family ...). At this point it is important to note that each child and adolescent can experience symptoms in different ways. different, so the help of a mental health professional will be essential to make a diagnosis suitable.

• Related article: "The 3 stages of adolescence"

Types of adjustment disorders

There are six different subtypes of adjustment disorders. Each of the subtypes is based on the main symptoms experienced. The subtypes are listed below, as well as the most common symptoms of each of them:

• Adjustment Disorder with Depressed Mood: The child or adolescent feels depressed, cries frequently, and expresses feelings of hopelessness.
• Adaptive Disorder with Anxiety: Symptoms can include nervousness, worry, and fear of separating from major attachment figures.
• Adaptive disorder with anxiety and depressed mood: combination of symptoms of the two previous subtypes (depressed mood and anxiety).
• Adjustment Disorder with Behavior Disturbance: Symptoms include violation of the rights of others and violation of social norms and rules.
• Adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and behavior: the child or adolescent has a combination of symptoms of all the above subtypes, that is, it presents depressed mood, anxiety and alterations of the conduct.
• Unspecified adjustment disorder: the child has reactions to stressful events that do not fit into one of the above subtypes. These can include behaviors such as social withdrawal.

As we have seen throughout the article, the consequences of adjustment disorder for children and adolescents are serious. Thus, it is important to pay attention to how children and adolescents adapt (or not) to stressful events.