Question 1

Sexual stimulation obtained through an inanimate object is known as?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Fetishism is a paraphilic pattern in which sexual arousal is derived from nonliving objects. Transvestism involves cross-dressing, voyeurism involves observing others without consent, and zoophilia involves animals.

Question 2

The following are social data about the client except?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Lifestyle, religious practices, and family home situation are components of the client's social history. Usual health status belongs to the health/physical history, not to social data.

Question 3

Which statement does not fulfill the criteria for neurosis?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Neurosis is characterized by preserved insight, intact reality testing, and a personality without gross behavioral disturbance. Therefore, the statement that behavior is grossly disturbed does not meet the criteria for neurosis.

Question 4

A patient has an adequate amount of speech, but the content provides little information; the patient is suffering from?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: An adequate quantity of speech with minimal informative content is classic for poverty of content of speech. Among the given options, this corresponds best to poverty of ideation, not to poverty of speech (reduced amount), echolalia (repetition), or mutism (no speech).

Question 5

Which defense mechanism is being used when the mother of a hospitalized child calls the student nurse, "You idiot, you have no idea how to care for my sick child"?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The mother redirects anger and anxiety about her child’s illness toward a safer target—the student nurse—demonstrating displacement.

Question 6

The nurse is caring for a client with bulimia nervosa. The nurse recognizes that the major difference between the client with anorexia nervosa and the client with bulimia nervosa is that the client with bulimia?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Clients with bulimia typically recognize that their eating behavior is abnormal and feel guilt or shame, whereas clients with anorexia often deny the problem and have stronger body-image distortion. Bulimics are usually of normal weight, not grossly overweight, and dependence issues are not the defining difference.

Question 7

When reviewing the admission assessment, the nurse notes that a patient was admitted involuntarily to the mental health unit. Based on this type of admission, which intervention should the nurse provide for this patient?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Involuntary admission typically occurs when the patient is a danger to themselves or others; the immediate nursing priority is safety, requiring close monitoring for potential harm.

Question 8

A person with a tendency to be outgoing, friendly, and talkative is said to be an?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Outgoing, friendly, and talkative are the hallmark traits of an extrovert.

Question 9

A client is admitted to the chemical dependency unit for polydrug abuse. The client states, "I don't know why you are all so worried; I am in control. I don't have a problem." Which defense mechanism is being utilized?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The client refuses to acknowledge the reality of substance abuse problems and claims control, which is characteristic of denial.

Question 10

The nurse is caring for a 16-year-old female with second- and third-degree burns on the face, neck, chest, and arms. The client's wounds are almost healed. The nurse would expect rehabilitation to focus on problems related to?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: In the rehabilitation phase after major burns—especially in visible adolescent areas like the face and neck—the primary ongoing issue is altered self-image and psychosocial adjustment. Infection risk and sensory/perceptual issues are more acute-phase concerns, and activity tolerance typically improves with rehab.

Question 11

An IQ level of 20–34 indicates?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Classic IQ-based classification: mild 50–70, moderate 35–49, severe 20–34, profound

Question 12

In defining stress, all of the following describe its characteristics except?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Stress can be eustress (positive) and does not always produce distress; the other statements accurately describe the general characteristics of the stress response.

Question 13

An adolescent client hospitalized with anorexia nervosa is described by her parents as "the perfect child." When planning care for the client, the nurse should?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Clients with anorexia nervosa often have an overcontrolled, perfectionistic personality; activities that promote self-identity and autonomy aid recovery.

Question 14

Belief or attitude about the worth of a person, object, idea or action?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: A value is a belief or attitude about the worth of a person, object, idea, or action.

Question 15

Which of the following types of crisis is seen in the developmental period of adolescence?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Adolescence is a predictable developmental transition; crises associated with normal life stages are maturational crises, unlike situational crises which arise from unexpected events.

Question 16

A patient has adequate speech amount but content provides little information, the patient is suffering from?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Adequate quantity of speech but minimal informative content corresponds to poverty of content; among the options, this is best represented by poverty of ideation.

Question 17

Which one of the following is NOT a characteristic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Core ADHD symptoms are inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity; difficulty in eating is not a diagnostic characteristic.

Question 18

Which facial expression shows emotional breakdown?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: An emotional breakdown is characterized by acute emotional distress, commonly manifested by crying. A smile indicates happiness, a blank stare suggests shock or dissociation, and a frown shows displeasure but not necessarily breakdown.

Question 19

Which of the following is true about illusions in a nursing context?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Illusions are misinterpretations of real external stimuli and can result from sensory deficits (e.g., poor vision or hearing). They are not always psychiatric, do not warrant routine immediate sedation, and are not a normal, harmless aspect of aging.

Question 20

Which type of conflict occurs when a person must choose between two negative goals?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Choosing between two undesirable outcomes defines an avoidance–avoidance conflict.

Question 21

Before discharge of an anxious client, what should the nurse teach the family about recognizing anxiety?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Anxiety is a diffuse response to stress manifested by emotional and behavioral changes. Option A is incorrect because anxiety is a common, not unique, feeling; B describes fear (specific, identifiable threat); C implies conscious motivation, which anxiety is not.

Question 22

Which observation best indicates that the plan of care is effective for an adolescent with anorexia nervosa?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Objective weight gain is the clearest indicator of effective treatment for anorexia nervosa and improved nutritional status. The other options are subjective or may reflect ongoing food preoccupation and do not confirm actual improvement.

Question 23

Obsessions are best defined as?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Obsessions are recurrent, intrusive, and unwanted thoughts or images. Repeated motor activity describes compulsions, while hallucinations and delusions are psychotic symptoms.

Question 24

What is the definition of hallucination?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Hallucination is a perception without an external stimulus. Options A and C relate to real stimuli or illusions, and D describes disorientation.

Question 25

In the process of development, the nurse determines that an individual strives to maintain, protect, and enhance the integrity of the self usually through the use of which mechanisms?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Defense mechanisms are unconscious psychological strategies used to protect the ego and maintain self-integrity; the other options are not primary mechanisms for maintaining self-integrity.

Question 26

What is the risk of overusing defense mechanisms?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Excessive reliance on defense mechanisms impedes realistic coping and growth, leading to maladaptive functioning and potential personality disintegration.

Question 27

Alarm, resistance, and exhaustion are concepts related to which model?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Alarm, resistance, and exhaustion are the three stages of Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome describing the body’s response to stress.

Question 28

What is the term for the tendency to view one's own way of life as the most desirable, acceptable, or best and to act in a superior manner toward another culture?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior and the standard for others. Cultural imposition is forcing one’s values on others, cultural taboos are prohibited practices, and acculturation is adapting to a new culture.

Question 29

Which client behavior indicates displacement?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Displacement is redirecting emotions from the original source to a safer substitute target; option D states this directly.

Question 30

According to Maslow's hierarchy of human needs, what is the highest level?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: In Maslow's hierarchy, self-actualization is the highest level, above physiological, safety, love/belonging, and esteem needs.

Question 31

A patient has an adequate amount of speech but provides very little content; what is the patient suffering from?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: The description fits alogia—speech that is adequate in amount but conveys little meaningful information. Mutism is absence of speech, echolalia is repetition, and poverty of ideation refers to reduced thought generation.

Question 32

According to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, what is the highest level?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Maslow’s hierarchy progresses from physiological needs to safety, love/belonging, esteem, and the highest level is self-actualization.

Question 33

Hospital staff requests that the parents of a hospitalized Greek infant remove the amulet from around the child's neck, yet the parents refuse. The nurse understands that the parents may be concerned about?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: In Greek culture, amulets are used to protect infants from the 'evil eye' (mati). Parents may refuse removal because they believe it wards off harm caused by others’ envy or admiration.

Question 34

The following is characteristic of normal mood and manner?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Normal mood and manner reflect appropriate affect and cooperative, pleasant interaction. Hostility, flattened affect, and unusual elation indicate potential mood or affect disturbances.

Question 35

Which type of therapy is most directive, offering the greatest potential for abuse of power by the counselor?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Rational-emotive therapy (RET) is highly directive; the therapist actively challenges and restructures the client’s irrational beliefs, creating greater potential for power misuse than Adlerian or Gestalt approaches.

Question 36

A patient being seen in the emergency department immediately after being sexually assaulted appears calm and controlled. The nurse analyzes this behavior as indicating which defense mechanism?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: A calm, controlled presentation immediately after a traumatic assault reflects detaching from or refusing to acknowledge the emotional impact, which is characteristic of denial. Projection attributes feelings to others, rationalization makes excuses, and intellectualization focuses on facts rather than feelings.

Question 37

What is the term for channeling a strong and socially unacceptable drive into a form or urge that is acceptable to society?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Sublimation is the defense mechanism where unacceptable impulses are redirected into socially acceptable activities. Regression returns to earlier behavior, replacement is not the correct term (often displacement), and identification is adopting traits of another person.

Question 38

The mother of a 6-year-old with autistic disorder tells the nurse that her son has been much more difficult to care for since the birth of his sister. The best explanation for changes in the child's behavior is?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Children with autism rely on sameness and predictable routines; disruptions commonly trigger increased behavioral difficulties. The birth of a sibling alters daily structure, making option C the best explanation.

Question 39

The nurse is caring for an adolescent with a 5-year history of bulimia. A common clinical finding in the client with bulimia is?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Repeated self-induced vomiting in bulimia leads to enamel erosion and dental caries; extreme weight loss, hair loss, and decreased temperature are more typical of anorexia nervosa.

Question 40

The client with dementia is experiencing confusion late in the afternoon and before bedtime. The nurse is aware that the client is experiencing what is known as?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Sundowning describes the late afternoon/evening increase in confusion, agitation, and disorientation commonly seen in clients with dementia. The other options do not characterize this timing-specific pattern.

Question 41

What differentiates Sibling Rivalry Disorder?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Pathologic sibling rivalry presents with maladaptive behaviors that impair functioning, commonly including developmental regression (e.g., loss of toileting or speech skills). Occasional fights and equal aggression are typical of normal rivalry, and parental detachment is not a defining criterion.

Question 42

What is pseudocyesis?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Pseudocyesis (false pregnancy) is a psychiatric condition in which a woman firmly believes she is pregnant despite no actual pregnancy. Options B and C describe other issues and do not define pseudocyesis.

Question 43

Which therapy is aimed at providing a healthy environment that helps in the early recovery of the patient?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Milieu therapy focuses on structuring a therapeutic environment to promote safety, support, and socialization, facilitating early recovery. Aversion therapy pairs unpleasant stimuli, flooding exposes clients to feared stimuli, and hypnosis induces an altered state—none are environment-focused.

Question 44

'Grapes sour' is an example of which defense mechanism?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Sour grapes' refers to devaluing an unattainable goal to justify not achieving it, which is the defense mechanism of rationalization.

Question 45

Repetition of activities by imitation is known as?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Echopraxia is the involuntary imitation of another person’s movements or actions. Echolalia repeats speech, perseveration is persistent repetition of a response, and verbigeration is senseless repetition of words/phrases.

Question 46

What is the term for a long term emotional response to an idea?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Mood is a sustained, longer-term emotional state; affect is the immediate, observable expression of emotion. Perception relates to interpretation of sensory input.

Question 47

Circumstantiality is a disorder of which mental function?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Circumstantiality is a disturbance in thought process where the person gives excessive, unnecessary detail before reaching the point; it is not a disorder of consciousness, perception, or memory.

Question 48

A patient admitted to a mental health unit for treatment of psychotic behavior spends hours at the locked exit door shouting, "Let me out. There's nothing wrong with me. I don't belong here." What defense mechanism is the patient implementing?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Stating there is nothing wrong and that they do not belong in treatment reflects refusal to acknowledge the illness, which is denial.

Question 49

On review of the patient’s record, the nurse notes the admission was voluntary. Based on this information, the nurse anticipates which patient’s behavior?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Voluntary admission indicates the patient sought help and is generally cooperative with care, showing readiness to engage in planning and treatment. Fearfulness, aggression, or guaranteed understanding of pathology are not specifically implied by voluntary status.

Question 50

During history taking if a clinician asks a patient, "What do you feel is causing your problem?" The clinician wants to check?

Accepted Answer

Answer reason: Asking what the patient believes is causing their problem evaluates their awareness and understanding of their illness, which is assessment of insight.

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