Comparison of Diagnostic Criteria

Running head:PSYCHIATRIC NURSING
Acute Distress Disorder and PTSD
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Author Note

PSYCHIATRIC NURSING1
Comparison of Diagnostic Criteria
While the diagnostic criterion for both post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and
Acute Distress/ Stress Disorder (ASD) overlap in many places, there are significant
differences in the criterion of both the conditions. According to the DSM V, they are as
follows (American Psychiatric Association., 2013).
For PTSD, Criterion A entails that the patient was directly or indirectly exposed to
death, near-death experiences, actual or threat of serious injuries or sexual violence. This
exposure may be personal, or indirect by repeated exposure to something that happened to a
closed one. Criterion A is the same for ASD as well.
Criterion B entails repeated intrusive thoughts or recollections in daily life related to
the trauma in the case of PTSD. This may also include nightmares about the trauma,
flashbacks, intense distress after the recollection and psychological reactivity after the stimuli
relating to trauma. In the case of ASD, one or none of these symptoms are apparent. Intrusive
memories may be assessed in various ways, like making the patients maintain a diary of the
memories (Kleim, Graham, Bryant & Ehlers, 2013).
Criterion C consists of the patient’s forced avoidance of any stimuli related to the
trauma that includes people, places, thoughts, conversations, objects, and others in the case of
PTSD. In the case of ASD, the patient may exhibit one or none of these symptoms.
In the case of PTSD, Criterion D entails a continuous distorted belief of oneself or the
world. This includes continuous negative emotions, unable to feel interested in pre-traumatic
activities. In the case of ASD, the patient may still exhibit this symptom, but only one or less.
Trauma-related belief distortion may present a risk of PTSD (Whiteman, 2018).

PSYCHIATRIC NURSING2
In Criterion E, PTSD shows trauma-alterations alterations in arousal. In ASD, the
patient may or may not show this symptom.
Criterion F and G entails the persistence of all the previous criterion and distress or
functional impairment in relation to the trauma. However, for ASD, while clinically
significant distress is still apparent, the duration usually lasts less than a month.
As for Criterion H, neither PTSD nor ASD is caused by any other reason except the
trauma.
Differences in Features and Prevalence
Diagnostic Features
The patient may revisit the traumatic experience in ways such as flashbacks,
nightmares, and face intense psychological distress due to intrusive memories. The patients
tend to almost always avoid stimuli associated with the traumatic event. Negative cognition is
a large symptom of PTSD, which may result in amnesia (dissociative response), which may
last long.
For ASD, symptoms typically do not last longer than a month. Dissociative disorders
may happen but not longer than a few hours. They usually do not have intrusive memories of
the event like the PTSD patients. They may be sensitive to the things associated with the
traumatic event (American Psychiatric Association., 2013).
Associated Features Supporting Diagnosis
Auditory hallucinations may occur in PTSD, along with paranoid ideation and
dissociative symptoms. In the case of ASD, the patients may be prone to panic attacks or
even feel guilty for the traumatic event or show impulsive behaviour.