Which statement best describes a crisis of anticipated life transitions?

Which statement best describes a crisis of anticipated life transitions?

• A. A normal life-cycle transition that may be anticipated but the individual feels lack of control
• B. An acute response to external situation stressor
• C. An emotional crisis due to a preexisting psych disorder
• D. A crisis that arises from a traumatic event

Answer: (A)

A crisis of anticipated life transitions happens when a normal developmental change is expected, but the person feels a loss of control and struggles to cope with it. The transition is planned or foreseeable—like leaving home, starting retirement, or becoming a parent—but the individual perceives uncertainty, fear, or helplessness about adapting to the new role or situation. This combination of a normal life change with a perceived inability to manage it triggers a crisis state, affecting functioning and prompting the need for support and coping strategies. This differs from crises driven by external events that aren’t anticipated, which are situational crises and involve an abrupt stressor. It also isn’t about a crisis arising from a preexisting psychiatric disorder, which involves underlying mental health conditions rather than a normal life transition. And it isn’t an adventitious crisis caused by a traumatic event, which is an unexpected, external trauma.

A crisis of anticipated life transitions happens when a normal developmental change is expected, but the person feels a loss of control and struggles to cope with it. The transition is planned or foreseeable—like leaving home, starting retirement, or becoming a parent—but the individual perceives uncertainty, fear, or helplessness about adapting to the new role or situation. This combination of a normal life change with a perceived inability to manage it triggers a crisis state, affecting functioning and prompting the need for support and coping strategies.

This differs from crises driven by external events that aren’t anticipated, which are situational crises and involve an abrupt stressor. It also isn’t about a crisis arising from a preexisting psychiatric disorder, which involves underlying mental health conditions rather than a normal life transition. And it isn’t an adventitious crisis caused by a traumatic event, which is an unexpected, external trauma.