Adjustment disorder considered

Adjustment disorder is not a new diagnostic category. It was incorporated into DSM-III in 1980 (American Psychiatric Association 1980) and into ICD-9 in 1978 (World Health Organization 1978), having been called transient situational dis turbance in earlier editions. It represents a maladaptive but temporary reaction to life stressors. There are no detailed diagnostic criteria in either DSM-IV-TR (American Psychiatric Association 2000) or ICD-10 (World Health Organization 1992); the main clinical features described in those publications are summarised in Box 1. Adjustment disorder differs from other diagnoses in which life events are a common factor. For example, an event or stressor is not essential for a diagnosis of depressive episode, whereas it is a prerequisite for a diagnosis of adjustment disorder. Apart from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorder, adjustment disorder is the only other diagnosis based on aetiology in the current classifications. In ICD-10, adjustment disorder is classified under ‘Neurotic, stressrelated and somatoform disorders’ (code F43.2), unlike DSM-IV-TR where is it is not classified under any particular group. Borders and boundaries