Most psychiatric diagnoses are clustered by core symptomatology. Trauma- and stressor-related disorders are unusual because they are grouped by apparent etiology: all of these disorders develop after exposure to a traumatic or stressful event. They are often discussed in the context of anxiety disorders, but the trauma- and stressor-related disorders may present with dysphoria, irritability, dissociation, substance use, or insomnia in addition to (or instead of) anxiety.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition, Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) categorizes the following as trauma- and stressor-related disorders:
Reactive attachment disorder (diagnosed only in children)
Disinhibited social engagement disorder (diagnosed only in children)
Other specified, or unspecified, trauma- and stressor-related disorders
Acute stress disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are similar except acute stress disorder typically begins immediately after the trauma and lasts from 3 days to 1 month, whereas PTSD may start either as a continuation of acute stress disorder or as a separate occurrence that begins a month or more after the trauma. It may also begin with delayed expression 6 months or more after the trauma. Acute stress disorder and PTSD in children and adolescents are discussed elsewhere.
