Psychopathological characteristics of adjustment disorder among outpatients with and without work related stress

Study's objective is to assess psychopathological profiles in outpatients with a diagnosis of Adjustment Disorder (AD) who had positive evaluations of work related stress (AD-W) versus those exposed to other stressful life events (AD-O).

The participants were 70 outpatients with AD-W, compared to 71 outpatients with AD-O, admitted at the Unit of Psychiatry and Occupational Medicine, Sant'Andrea Hospital, Rome. Patients completed the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A), the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - 2 (MMPI-2), and the Rorschach test.

The emerged data underline that patients with AD-W scored significantly higher than patients with AD-O in the MMPI-2 scales D, Pd, Pa, FAM, and in the Rorschach anxiety scale (Sum Y).

Finally patients with AD-W showed greater levels of psychopathology compared to patients with AD-O. Further studies assessing the harm associated with stress might allow a better understanding of the diagnosis and therapeutic implications of AD.