Exam 8: Trauma- and Stressor-Related Disorders

When considering the diagnosis between posttraumatic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder GAD), one distinction includes:

Use the following terms to complete the answer. -Acurte stress -Adjustment -Disinhibted social engagment -Posttraumatic stress -Reactive attachment -__________ disorder is distinguished from posttraumatic stress disorder by a symptom pattern restricted to a duration of 3 days to one month following exposure to the traumatic event.

The presence of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor is the essential feature of adjustment disorders.

With depressed mood is a specifier for the adjustment disorders.

Six months after the death of her husband, 70 year-old Emma Davis has not been able to move out of her home because she is unable to sort through and dispose of her husband's belongings. Emma can longer afford to keep what is now a large house and yearns for her husband to come back. Emma's family doctor referred her to the social worker for counseling to address symptoms of overwhelming sadness and anger regarding her husband's sudden death from a heart attack. What would be the appropriate diagnosis for Emma Davis?

Ms. Holley is a first grade teacher who is concerned about one of her students, 6 year-old Kara Steel. Each time the class goes on a field trip, Kara leaves the class group and approaches strangers. It seems that Kara has a history of being placed in several different foster homes over the past 3 years. Which of the following diagnoses best explains Kara's behavior?

Of the following statements, which is most indicative of developing posttraumatic stress disorder?

Experiencing repeated or extreme exposure to aversive details of traumatic events) supports the diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder.

Jamie Richards is a freshman at a near-by community college. Normally a good student, she contacted student counselling services for some help when her grades started to slip. She always loved school and now found it harder and harder to find the energy to devote to her classes. Jamie begins, "Well, it all started when my step-dad raped my sister when she was 11 years old. She's now 14 but only told me about it last month. Of course I told my mom right away. It broke her heart. I felt so bad. Anyway, from that moment on my whole life changed. First off, I f_ _ ked up things with my boyfriend." Jamie admits that she had flirted with her boyfriend's best friend. "I know I broke my boyfriend's heart. I feel so miserable and I hate knowing that I broke somebody else's heart just like my step-dad broke mine, my mom's, and my little sister's," said Jamie." She continues, "Anyway, this has been going on for the past 3 months and I just feel so down. I cry at the drop of a hat and feel so hopeless about ever getting back to 'normal'." What is the likely diagnosis for Jamie Richards?

Reactive attachment disorder occurs only in children who have impaired communication.

For a child to be considered for the diagnosis of reactive attachment disorder, he or she must have a history of being placed in 5 foster homes, at a minimum.

Practitioners should be aware of fears and anxieties that develop a result of traumatic events in order to distinguish these from generalized anxiety disorder.

DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for acute stress disorder ASD) require the presence of symptoms from 5 different categories: intrusion, negative mood, dissociative, avoidance, and arousal.

Skip Bradeen spent 27 months in Iraq dodging roadside bombs, rocket-propelled grenades, mortars and snipers, and seeing his friends die. One memory especially stands out for Skip. It was when he saw one of his best friends die. After his first tour in Iraq, Skip's wife noticed how much he had changed. According to his wife, Pat, "When he came back, Skip would never talk about what he had done in Iraq. He was always an easy going kind of guy but now he seemed so negative. He would say things like 'The world is so dangerous. You can't trust anybody. That was so unlike him. Worse yet, my living room became a battlefield. If one of our kids would misbehave, Skip would go through the ceiling. I remember one night he grabbed our 8 year-old by the throat and threw him against the wall. It was like Skip was angry all the time." Pat added, "Our bedroom was a battleground, too. At first, Skip would wake up every single night screaming at the top of his lungs. Then came the nightmares. Another thing I noticed was that he spent a great deal of time shaking and crying when he thought nobody was looking. I don't know how many times I would come home after work and find Skip huddled in the corner of our bed, sheets over his head." The Army doctors noted Skip's severe migraines, frequent nightmares, sleep disturbance, memory lapses, hyper-vigilance, and anxiety and recommended him for a medical discharge. What is Skip's most likely diagnosis?

Use the following terms to complete the answer. -Acurte stress -Adjustment -Disinhibted social engagment -Posttraumatic stress -Reactive attachment -The only known risk factor for __________ disorder is serious social neglect.

Use the following terms to complete the answer. -Acurte stress -Adjustment -Disinhibted social engagment -Posttraumatic stress -Reactive attachment -Because of its association with social neglect __________ disorder may co-occur with developmental delays.

Jeannie Koch has been known to child protective services since she was 2 years old. Her mother, Carmen, never married. Jeannie's father lost touch with the family after his last incarceration for selling drugs. The case notes describe Jeannie's mother as struggling with depression indicating that she was often "unavailable" due to recurring bouts of depression. During episodes of feeling "down," Carmen would leave Jeannie in the care of various sitters or relatives. While there was no history of serious abuse or neglect, Jeannie's mother was often not able to attend to her daughter's needs. Carmen has just been hospitalized for a major depressive episode and this time around the caseworker was unable to locate relatives who could take care of Jeannie - now 4 years of age - for an extended period of time and so the youngster was placed in temporary foster care. Soon after placement, the foster mother reports, "She keeps to herself and hardly talks to any of us. I can hear that child sobbing when she is alone in her room. And when I ask Jeannie if she's worried about her mother, she insists that her mom is on vacation and will be back soon." Further, Jeannie seems unresponsive to any efforts to comfort her. What do you think is the appropriate diagnosis for Jeannie Koch?

Use the following terms to complete the answer. -Acurte stress -Adjustment -Disinhibted social engagment -Posttraumatic stress -Reactive attachment -The key feature of __________ disorders is the presence of emotional or behavioral symptoms in response to an identifiable stressor.

Persistent complex bereavement disorder is a proposed diagnosis which appears in Section III, Conditions for Further Study, of the DSM-5.

Use the following terms to complete the answer. -Acurte stress -Adjustment -Disinhibted social engagment -Posttraumatic stress -Reactive attachment -Spontaneous and intrusive memories may not necessarily appear as distressing but may be expressed as play reenactment is a diagnostic criterion that may be seen in children 6 years and younger with _______ disorder.