DSM Quick Quiz: Acute Stress Disorder

Here, to keep you on your toes, the first in a series of DSM Quick Quizzes.  This one’s about Acute Stress Disorder (ASD).  Text courtesy of the Encyclopedia of Mental Disorders. Follow the link there for fill-in-the-blank answers or see comments below.

ASD, like [ANSWER A], begins with exposure to an extremely traumatic, horrifying, or terrifying event. Unlike [ANSWER A], however, ASD emerges sooner and abates more quickly; it is also marked by more dissociative symptoms. If left untreated, however, ASD is likely to progress to [ANSWER A]. Because the two share many symptoms, some researchers and clinicians question the validity of maintaining separate diagnostic categories. Others explain them as two phases of an extended reaction to traumatic stress.

ASD symptoms develop within [ANSWER B] after the traumatic event; it is still unknown, however, why some trauma survivors develop symptoms more rapidly than others. Delayed symptoms are often triggered by a situation that resembles the original trauma.

ASD is usually diagnosed by matching the patient’s symptoms to the DSM-IV-TR criteria. The patient may also meet the criteria for [ANSWER C]. A person who has been exposed to a traumatic stressor and has developed symptoms that do not meet the criteria for ASD may be diagnosed as having [ANSWER D] .