Chronic Adjustment Disorder, With Depressed Mood

You said that your child feels sad, cries a lot, or feels hopeless. You also said that these problems started after s/he began going through something stressful. This stressful situation is on-going.

The stressful situation may be one of the following:

• Parents' divorce
• Starting a new preschool/childcare
• Serious on-going medical problem
• Living in a dangerous place

All children have some problems when they go through something like this. Your child is having a harder time than most. Your child may be having problems at home or other places because of this. Children who have the problems that you reported often have an adjustment disorder.

Warning signs that things are getting worse:

• Your child often feels guilty.
• Your child says s/he often has thoughts of death.
• Your child says s/he feels worthless.
• Your child seems sad or irritable most days, for several weeks in a row.

Adapted in part from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996) and the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (1994) .