ADJUSTMENT
About the Disorder
Adjustment disorder is a change or regression in behavior or emotions in response to a specific environmental change in a child’s life. A child struggling with this disorder will respond to the stress of change in a way that is excessive when compared to what is considered normal for that child. This disorder may also appear in children who are going through a change in placement. For example, a child who moves to a new foster home or is adopted into a new home—even the most wonderful, loving home ever imagined—may
experience an adjustment disorder. Adjustment Disorder can manifest itself as anxiety, depression, or it may be indicated by behavior that is uncharacteristic for specific a child. There is not a specific type of event that will necessarily lead to an adjustment disorder, and not all children will respond to unsettling events in the same way. For example, an unsettling event could happen to several children—even children in the same family—but only one of the children may experience an adjustment disorder. The way a child responds to an unsettling event may also be affected by a child’s cultural background and everyday experience. Adjustment disorders occur in both males and females and can occur in children of all ages.
What You May See Children who are fussy and act out for a week when their parent returns to work are not showing signs of an adjustment disorder. They are experiencing new rules, new hours, and possibly a new feeding schedule and may, predictably, seem unsettled. A child who develops intense separation anxiety or is noticeably sad and/or withdrawn for an extended period of time after a significant family change, however, may be experiencing an adjustment disorder.
Infants and young children have little control over many aspects of their daily life. They do not, for example, decide where to live, which childcare they will attend, or how long they will stay at childcare. Changes in these areas, as well as stressors such as major illness, parental divorce, birth of a sibling, and excessive marital conflict, can lead children to develop an adjustment disorder. In response to these changes, a child who usually plays happily may become aggressive; a child who often plays alone may begin to engage other children in a negative way; a child who typically is very good natured may become upset easily and begin to have tantrums; and a child who has mastered a developmental milestone, such as toileting, may regress.
Children are wonderful observers of their world, however, they are not always accurate interpreters. When a child begins to appear stressed, parents and caregivers often find clues to the child’s behavior when they are able to see the world from their child’s perspective. Events that may not seem disturbing to adults, such as the birth of a new child, may affect children differently. It is often not the change itself but the child’s
perception of the environmental change that causes the stress and, sometimes, a subsequent adjustment disorder.
Symptoms
A child with Adjustment Disorder may exhibit one or all of the following:
• Appear subdued, irritable, anxious, or withdrawn
• Resist going to sleep
• Have frequent tantrums
• Regress in the ability to toilet independently
• Have increased separation anxiety
• Exhibit acting-out behaviors that are uncharacteristic for
the child such as hitting or biting
Adjustment disorder is a change or regression in behavior or emotions in response to a specific environmental change in a child’s life. A child struggling with this disorder will respond to the stress of change in a way that is excessive when compared to what is considered normal for that child. This disorder may also appear in children who are going through a change in placement. For example, a child who moves to a new foster home or is adopted into a new home—even the most wonderful, loving home ever imagined—may
experience an adjustment disorder. Adjustment Disorder can manifest itself as anxiety, depression, or it may be indicated by behavior that is uncharacteristic for specific a child. There is not a specific type of event that will necessarily lead to an adjustment disorder, and not all children will respond to unsettling events in the same way. For example, an unsettling event could happen to several children—even children in the same family—but only one of the children may experience an adjustment disorder. The way a child responds to an unsettling event may also be affected by a child’s cultural background and everyday experience. Adjustment disorders occur in both males and females and can occur in children of all ages.
What You May See Children who are fussy and act out for a week when their parent returns to work are not showing signs of an adjustment disorder. They are experiencing new rules, new hours, and possibly a new feeding schedule and may, predictably, seem unsettled. A child who develops intense separation anxiety or is noticeably sad and/or withdrawn for an extended period of time after a significant family change, however, may be experiencing an adjustment disorder.
Infants and young children have little control over many aspects of their daily life. They do not, for example, decide where to live, which childcare they will attend, or how long they will stay at childcare. Changes in these areas, as well as stressors such as major illness, parental divorce, birth of a sibling, and excessive marital conflict, can lead children to develop an adjustment disorder. In response to these changes, a child who usually plays happily may become aggressive; a child who often plays alone may begin to engage other children in a negative way; a child who typically is very good natured may become upset easily and begin to have tantrums; and a child who has mastered a developmental milestone, such as toileting, may regress.
Children are wonderful observers of their world, however, they are not always accurate interpreters. When a child begins to appear stressed, parents and caregivers often find clues to the child’s behavior when they are able to see the world from their child’s perspective. Events that may not seem disturbing to adults, such as the birth of a new child, may affect children differently. It is often not the change itself but the child’s
perception of the environmental change that causes the stress and, sometimes, a subsequent adjustment disorder.
SymptomsA child with Adjustment Disorder may exhibit one or all of the following:
• Appear subdued, irritable, anxious, or withdrawn
• Resist going to sleep
• Have frequent tantrums
• Regress in the ability to toilet independently
• Have increased separation anxiety
• Exhibit acting-out behaviors that are uncharacteristic for
the child such as hitting or biting
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