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Maladaptive/Maladjustment

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Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine

Synonyms

Dysfunctional/dysfunction; Maladaptation; Maladjustive

Definition

Maladjustment is the result of insufficient responses to demands that may occur throughout the life span and result in impaired functioning, distress, and/or poor health. The term maladaptive refers to processes (e.g., specific behaviors, patterns of thought or emotion that yield negative outcomes) whereas maladjustment is the result or outcome of this process.

Description

The terms maladjustment and maladaptive are used in a wide range of contexts, which may broadly be categorized as social, psychological, and biological. Social maladjustment refers to how a person develops and maintains interpersonal relationships, especially with peers. Maladaptive behaviors in this realm often emerge during childhood when individuals learn how to navigate their social world and solve interpersonal problems. During this period, children face changing school settings and social networks. Children who are not able to...

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References and Readings

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Social Behaviour, University of California, Irvine, 5300 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Irvine, 92697-7050, CA, USA

    David Busse

  2. Department of Psychology and Social Behaviour, University of California, Irvine, 4562 Social and Behavioral Sciences Gateway, Irvine, 92697-7085, CA, USA

    Dr. Ilona S. Yim

Authors
  1. David Busse
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  2. Dr. Ilona S. Yim
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to David Busse .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Behavioral Medicine Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Marc D. Gellman

  2. Cardiovascular Safety, Quintiles, Durham, NC, USA

    J. Rick Turner

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© 2013 Springer Science+Business Media, New York

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Busse, D., Yim, I.S. (2013). Maladaptive/Maladjustment. In: Gellman, M.D., Turner, J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_32

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_32

  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1004-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1005-9

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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