Adjustment disorders consist of the development of emotional or behavioral symptoms that affect the individual's ability to function at work, school and interpersonally. The emotional or behavioral symptoms must occur within three months of exposure to the stressor(s), do not meet the criteria for other disorders, such as an anxiety or mood disorder, and are responses that are considered to be excessive reactions to the stressor(s).
Adapted from "Diagnostic And Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition," American Psychiatric Association, 1994.