OVERVIEW
This page is dedicated to organizing various examples of standardized exam questions whose answer is adjustment disorder. While this may seem a odd practice, it is useful to see multiple examples of how adjustment disorder will be characterized on standardized exams (namely the boards and the shelf exams). This page is not meant to be used as a tradition question bank (as all of the answers will be the same), however seeing the classic “test” characterization for a disease is quite valuable.
QUESTION EXAMPLES
Question # 1
19 year old college student comes to the clinic because she has been feeling “awful” for the past 2 weeks. She has been crying and distracted since her boyfriend of 2 years broke up with her two weeks ago. She inquires about getting medication to help her with her sleep. She usually will have close to 4 drinks every week, but she explains that she did have 3 beers 2 nights ago. She appears well dressed and well groomed. Her pulse is 74, blood pressure 115/70. Her physical exam is unremarkable. When conducting the mental status exam you notice she becomes tearful when discussing her relationship, but becomes happy and engaged when discussing her college studies and her future career goals. She believes she is a good person and is hopeful that things will get better. Her hematocrit is 35% and her MCV is 80 μm^3. Her urine toxicology screen is negative. Which is the most likely diagnosis?
Question # 2
A 20 year old man has been experiencing restless sleep and feelings of sadness for 1 week and he has noticed a 2 lb weight loss in this period. He reports experiencing tension headaches, difficulty concentrating, and difficulty completing his assignments for college. His first relationship ended 2 weeks ago. He states, “My life is over. She was my everything and now she is gone!” He has no previous history of experiencing any of these symptoms. He denies any suicidal or homicidal ideation. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Question # 3
A 37 year old man comes to the clinic because he is having difficulty sleeping and feels “worthless”. His insomnia and poor self esteem began 3 months ago when he discovered that his boyfriend was involved with one of his co-workers. The patient was very disappointed by this as he thought he and his boyfriend were very close. He immediately ended the relationship and has not dated anyone since, preferring stay home alone. He admits to having little interest in dating other men now, even if they seem to be a good match. Although he continues to work as a financial analyst, he struggles to make work deadlines due to his lack of sleep. He cautiously admits to to using marijuana on occain to “forget his feelings”. The patient has no past history of psychiatric illness. His older sister was diagnosed with depressing, however she was successfully treated with venlafaxine. What is the most likely diagnosis?
Page Updated: 09.10.2016