Diagnosing adjustment disorder with depressive features.

Adjustment disorder (AD) with depressive features is a common but under researched diagnosis. There are particular problems associated with the diagnosis of AD using structured interviews and screening schedules have yet to be successfully developed owing to the poor specificity of those that are currently used. The problem of underdiagnosing AD due to symptom overlap with other disorders, on the one hand, and, on the other, the danger of pathologizing normal distress as AD are considered. The diagnosis of AD in practice is an exercise that requires clinical judgment concerning the context of the symptoms, their cultural and individual appropriateness as well as the longitudinal course. Significant research input is essential if comprehensive diagnostic criteria are to be developed.