Original Articles
26 February 2025
Vol. 39 No. 2 (2017)
Psychopathological characteristics of adjustment disorder among outpatients with and without work related stress
[Caratteristiche psicopatologiche del disturbo dell'adattamento in pazienti ambulatoriali con e senza stress da lavoro]
Publisher's note
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.
32
Views
20
Downloads
Authors
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.
Altmetrics
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
Citations
1) Cox T, Griffiths A. The nature and measurement of work stress: theory and practice. In: Wilson JR, Corlett EN. Ed. Evaluation of human work: a practical ergonomics methodology. London, Taylor e Francis, 1995. 2) World Health Organization, The ICD-10 Classification of Mental and Behavioral Disorders. Geneva, WHO, 1992.
3) American Psychiatric Association, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Association, 2000.
4) Andreasen NC, Hoenk PR. The predictive value of adjustment disorders: a follow-up study. American Journal of Psychiatry 1982; 139: 584-590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.139.5.584
5) Casey P. Adult adjustment disorder: A review of its current diagnostic status. Journal of Psychiatric Practice 2001; 7(1): 32-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/00131746-200101000-00004
6) Diefenbacher A, and Strain JJ. Consultation-liaison psychiatry: stability and change over a 10-year period. General Hospital Psychiatry 2002; 24: 249-256. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-8343(02)00182-2
7) Fabrega H, and Mezzich JE. Adjustment disorder and psychiatric practice: Cultural and historical aspects. Psychiatry: Journal for the Study of Interpersonal Processes 1987; 50(1): 31-49. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00332747.1987.11024344
8) Greenberg WM, Rosenfeld DN, Ortega EA. Adjustment disorder as an admission diagnosis. The American Journal of Psychiatry 1995; 152(3): 459-461. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/ajp.152.3.459
9) Bhatia MS, Aggarwal NK and Aggarwal BBL. Psychosocial profile of suicide ideators, attempters and completers in India. International Journal of Social Psychiatry 2000; 46(3): 155-163. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/002076400004600301
10) Pompili M, Lester D, Innamorati M, De Pisa E, Iliceto P, Puccinno M, Fiori Nastro P, Tatarelli R and Girardi P. Suicide risk and exposure to mobbing. Work 2008; 31(2): 237-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-2008-00728
11) Skopek MA and Perkins R. Deliberate exposure to motor vehicle exhaust gas: The psychosocial profile of attempted suicide. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 1998; 32(6): 830-838. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3109/00048679809073873
12) Wai BHK, Hong C and Heok KE. Suicidal behavior among young people in Singapore. General Hospital Psychiatry 1999; 21(2): 128-133. 13) Jones R, Yates WR, Williams S, Zhou M and Hardman L. Outcome for adjustment disorder with depressed mood: Comparison with other mood disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders 1999; 55(1): 55-61. 14) Jones R, Yates WR and Zhou M. Readmission rates for adjustment disorders: Comparison with other mood disorders. Journal of Affective Disorders 2002; 71(1-3): 199-203. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0165-0327(01)00390-1
15) Strain JJ, Smith GC, Hammer JS, McKenzie DP, Blumenfield M, Muskin P, Newstadt G, Wallack J, Wilner A and Schleifer SS. Adjustment disorder: a multisite study of its utilization and interventions in the consultation-liaison psychiatry setting. General Hospital Psychiatry 1998; 20: 139-149. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0163-8343(98)00020-6
16) Einarsen S. Harassment and bullying at work: A review of the Scandinavian approach. Aggression and Violent Behavior 2000; 5(4): 379-401. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1359-1789(98)00043-3
17) Girardi P, Monaco E, Prestigiacomo C, Talamo A, Ruberto A and Tatarelli R. Personality and psychopathological profiles in individuals exposed to mobbing. Violence and Victims 2007; 22(2): 172-188. 18) Nolfe G, Petrella C, Blasi F, Zontini G and Nolfe G. Psychopathological dimensions of harassment in the workplace (mobbing). International Journal of Mental Health 2007; 36(4): 67-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/088667007780477320
19) Kobelt A, Gutenbrunner C, Schmid-Ott G, Schwickerath J and Petermann F. Do people with mobbing experience which apply for medical rehabilitation have a peculiar personality?. Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik, Medizinische Psychologie 2009; 60(7): 279-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0029-1233497
20) Monteleone P, Nolfe G, Serritella C, Milano V, Di Cerbo A, Blasi F, Putrella C and Maj M. Hypoactivity of the hypothalamo-pituitaryadrenal axis in victims of mobbing: role of the subjects' temperament and chronicity of the work-related psychological distress. Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics 2009; 78(6): 381-383. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1159/000235980
21) Leymann H. Mobbing and psychological terror at workplaces. Violence and Victims 1990; 5(2): 119-126. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1891/0886-6708.5.2.119
22) Keller MC, Neale MC and Kendler KS. Association of different adverse life events with distinct patterns of depressive symptoms. American Journal of Psychiatry 2007; 164(10): 1521-1529. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2007.06091564
23) Kendler K, Karkowski L and Prescott C. The assessment of dependence in the study of stressful life events: Validation using a twin design. Psychological Medicine 1999; 29(6): 1455-1460. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033291798008198
24) Exner JE. The Rorschach: A comprehensive system: Vol. 1. Basic foundations (4th ed.). New York, Wiley 2003.
25) First MB, Spitzer RL, Gibbon M and Williams JB. Structured clinical interview for DSM-IV Axis I disorders-Clinical version (SCIDCV). Washington, DC, American Psychiatric Press 1997.
26) Clark LA and Watson D. Tripartite model of anxiety and depression: Psichometric evidence and tassonomic implication. Journal of Abnormal Psychology 1991; 100: 316-336. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//0021-843X.100.3.316
27) Hamilton M. The assessment of anxiety states by rating. British Journal of Medical Psychology 1959; 32: 50. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8341.1959.tb00467.x
28) Butcher JN, Dahlstrom WG, Graham JR, Tellegen A and Kaemmer B. MMPI-2 Manual for administration and scoring. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press 1989.
29) Hamilton M. A rating scale for depression. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry 1960; 23: 56-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/jnnp.23.1.56
30) Rabkin JG and Klein DF. The clinical measurement of depressive disorders. In: Hirschfeld MR and Katz M. Ed. The Measurement of Depression. New York, Guilford Press 1987.
31) Shear MK, Vander Bilt J, Rucci P, Endicott J, Lydiard B, Otto MW and Frank DM. Reliability and validity of a structured interview guide for the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (SIGH-A). Depression and Anxiety 2001; 13: 166-178. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/da.1033.abs
32) Kobak KA, Reynolds WM and Greist JH. Development and validation of a computer-administered version of the Hamilton Rating Scale. Psychological Assessment 1993; 5: 487-492. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//1040-3590.5.4.487
33) Butcher JN, Graham JR and Ben-Porath YS. Methodological problems and issues in MMPI, MMPI-2, and MMPI-A research. Psychological Assessment 1995; 7: 320-329. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//1040-3590.7.3.320
34) Greene R, Gwin R and Staal M. Current status of MMPI-2 research: A methodologic overview. Journal of Personality Assessment 1997; 68(1): 20-36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6801_3
35) Hilsenroth MJ and Handler L. A survey of graduate students' experiences, interests, and attitudes about learning the Rorschach. Journal of Personality Assessment 1995; 64: 243-257. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327752jpa6402_5
36) Lis A, Parolin L, Salcuni S and Zennaro A. RCS data for 249 adult non patient from Italy. Journal of Personality Assessment 2007; 89(suppl.1): 80-84. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00223890701583275
37) Cicchetti DV. Guidelines, criteria, and rules of thumb for evaluating normed and standardized instruments in psychology. Psychological Assessment 1994; 6: 284-290. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037//1040-3590.6.4.284
38) Meyer GJ, Hilsenroth MJ, Baxter D, Exner JE Jr, Fowler JC, Piers CC and Resnick J. An examination of interrater reliability for scoring the Rorschach comprehensive system in eight data sets. Journal of Personality Assessment 2002; 78(2): 219-274. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327752JPA7802_03
39) Hansen AM, Hogh A, Person R, Karlson B, Garde H and Orbaek P. Bullying at work, health outcomes, and physiological stress response. Journal of Psychosomatic Research 2006; 60: 63-72. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.06.078
40) Van der Linden D, Beckers D and Taris T. Reinforcement sensitivity theory at work: Punishment sensitivity as a dispositional source of job-related stress. European Journal of Personality 2007; 21(7): 889-909. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/per.660
How to Cite
Psychopathological characteristics of adjustment disorder among outpatients with and without work related stress: [Caratteristiche psicopatologiche del disturbo dell’adattamento in pazienti ambulatoriali con e senza stress da lavoro]. (2025). Giornale Italiano Di Medicina Del Lavoro Ed Ergonomia, 39(2), 72-77. https://doi.org/10.4081/gimle.607
Copyright (c) 2017 The Author(s)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
PAGEPress has chosen to apply the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) to all manuscripts to be published.