Los trastornos adaptativos son cuadros cuya característica esencial es una respuesta psicológica a uno o varios estresantes identificables que comportan la aparición de síntomas emocionales o de comportamiento clínicamente significativos. Los síntomas deben presentarse durante los 3 meses siguientes al inicio del estresante. La respuesta consiste en un acusado malestar, superior al esperable dada la naturaleza del estresante, o en un deterioro significativo de la actividad social, profesional o académica.

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An adjustment disorder (AD) — sometimes called exogenous, or reactive, or situational depression — occurs when an individual is unable to adjust to or cope with a particular stress or a major life event. Since people with this disorder normally have symptoms that depressed people do, such as general loss of interest, feelings of hopelessness and crying, this disorder is sometimes known as situational depression. Unlike major depression the disorder is caused by an outside stressor and generally resolves once the individual is able to adapt to the situation. One hypothesis about AD is that it may represent a sub-threshold clinical syndrome. The condition is different from anxiety disorder, which lacks the presence of a stressor, or post-traumatic stress disorder and acute stress disorder, which usually are associated with a more intense stressor. Common characteristics of AD include mild depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and traumatic stress symptoms or a combination of the three. There are nine types of AD listed in the DSM-III-R. According to the DSM-IV-TR, there are six types of AD, which are characterized by the following predominant symptoms: depressed mood, anxiety, mixed depression and anxiety, disturbance of conduct, mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct, and unspecified. However, the criteria for these symptoms are not specified in greater detail. AD may be acute or chronic, depending on whether it lasts more or less than six months. According to the DSM-IV-TR, if the AD lasts less than 6 months, then it may be considered acute. If it lasts more than six months, it may be considered chronic. Moreover, the symptoms cannot last longer than six months after the stressor(s), or its consequences, have terminated. Diagnosis of AD is quite common; there is an estimated incidence of 5%–21% among psychiatric consultation services for adults. Adult women are diagnosed twice as often as are adult men. Among children and adolescents, girls and boys are equally likely to receive this diagnosis. AD was introduced into the psychiatric classification systems almost 30 years ago, but similar syndromes were recognized for many years before that.

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