OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 20: Psychosocial Assessment
OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills
Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 20: Psychosocial Assessment
Review Questions
Multiple Choice
1. Charita and her patient, Cheng, come from completely different backgrounds and have
nothing in common, including their skin color. Also, Cheng feels that mental illness is a sign
of weakness, and she is reluctant to discuss her mental health. Yet, despite these barriers,
Charita managed to establish a rapport with Cheng and conduct a thorough mental health
assessment. What enabled Charita to do this?
A. Charita relied on broad questions, as opposed to focused questions, to conduct the
assessment.
B. Charita focused the assessment on objective data, which doesn’t require Cheng’s input.
C. Charita has cultural competence.*
D. Charita used Cheng’s past medical history as the focus of the assessment, limiting the need
for Cheng’s input.
LO: 20.1.2
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
2. Your patient readily admits that he has mental health issues, and he seemed engaged in the
mental health assessment process, making eye contact and being very open about his
mental health history. Yet, he struggled to answer your questions and provide the
information you needed to complete the assessment. What factor likely influenced this
patient’s ability to adequately participate in the assessment process?
A. communication barriers
B. cultural context
C. developmental stage
D. health literacy*
LO: 20.1.2
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
3. What is a short-lived emotional state that can change based on emotion?
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,OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 20: Psychosocial Assessment
A. affect
B. congruence
C. euthymic
D. mood*
LO: 20.1.3
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember
AACN: 1.1a
4. As you conduct a mental health assessment, you notice that your patient is trembling,
sweating, and appears to have a dry mouth. When you check the patient’s heart rate, it is
increased. What could be causing these symptoms?
A. anxiety*
B. congruence
C. affect
D. mood
LO: 20.1.3
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
5. As you conduct a mental health assessment, you find that your patient has the ability to
discuss ideas with you and talk about goals they have for the future. What ability does your
patient have?
A. abstract thinking*
B. concrete thinking
C. mood congruence
D. mental clarity
LO: 20.1.3
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate
AACN: 1.1b
6. If your patient is experiencing extrapyramidal syndrome related to psychotropic medication
use, what uncontrolled, involuntary movements and motor restlessness might be present
during the mental health assessment?
A. psychomotor agitation and psychomotor retardation
B. dyskinesia and akathisia*
C. catalepsy and distractibility
D. dysphoria and euthymic
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Chapter 20: Psychosocial Assessment
LO: 20.1.3
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
7. Your patient drinks so much alcohol that it has considerably impaired both her mental and
physical health. What type of drinking does your patient do?
A. harmful drinking
B. binge drinking
C. at-risk drinking
D. hazardous drinking*
LO: 20.2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
8. When a person’s behavior changes and they seek to drink alcohol even though it causes
negative consequences for them, what has happened?
A. They have become intoxicated.
B. They have become tolerant of alcohol.
C. They have become addicted to alcohol.*
D. They have become a binge drinker.
LO: 20.2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
9. Your patient is going through alcohol withdrawal and is experiencing hallucinations. How
long has it likely been since your patient’s last drink?
A. 6 to 36 hours
B. 12 to 48 hours*
C. 6 to 48 hours
D. 48 to 96 hours
LO: 20.2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember, Understand
AACN: 1.1a
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
3 1/29/2026
Chapter 20: Psychosocial Assessment
OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills
Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 20: Psychosocial Assessment
Review Questions
Multiple Choice
1. Charita and her patient, Cheng, come from completely different backgrounds and have
nothing in common, including their skin color. Also, Cheng feels that mental illness is a sign
of weakness, and she is reluctant to discuss her mental health. Yet, despite these barriers,
Charita managed to establish a rapport with Cheng and conduct a thorough mental health
assessment. What enabled Charita to do this?
A. Charita relied on broad questions, as opposed to focused questions, to conduct the
assessment.
B. Charita focused the assessment on objective data, which doesn’t require Cheng’s input.
C. Charita has cultural competence.*
D. Charita used Cheng’s past medical history as the focus of the assessment, limiting the need
for Cheng’s input.
LO: 20.1.2
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
2. Your patient readily admits that he has mental health issues, and he seemed engaged in the
mental health assessment process, making eye contact and being very open about his
mental health history. Yet, he struggled to answer your questions and provide the
information you needed to complete the assessment. What factor likely influenced this
patient’s ability to adequately participate in the assessment process?
A. communication barriers
B. cultural context
C. developmental stage
D. health literacy*
LO: 20.1.2
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
3. What is a short-lived emotional state that can change based on emotion?
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
1 1/29/2026
,OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 20: Psychosocial Assessment
A. affect
B. congruence
C. euthymic
D. mood*
LO: 20.1.3
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember
AACN: 1.1a
4. As you conduct a mental health assessment, you notice that your patient is trembling,
sweating, and appears to have a dry mouth. When you check the patient’s heart rate, it is
increased. What could be causing these symptoms?
A. anxiety*
B. congruence
C. affect
D. mood
LO: 20.1.3
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
5. As you conduct a mental health assessment, you find that your patient has the ability to
discuss ideas with you and talk about goals they have for the future. What ability does your
patient have?
A. abstract thinking*
B. concrete thinking
C. mood congruence
D. mental clarity
LO: 20.1.3
Difficulty: Difficult
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply, Analyze, Evaluate
AACN: 1.1b
6. If your patient is experiencing extrapyramidal syndrome related to psychotropic medication
use, what uncontrolled, involuntary movements and motor restlessness might be present
during the mental health assessment?
A. psychomotor agitation and psychomotor retardation
B. dyskinesia and akathisia*
C. catalepsy and distractibility
D. dysphoria and euthymic
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
2 1/29/2026
, OpenStax Clinical Nursing Skills Nursing Test Bank
Chapter 20: Psychosocial Assessment
LO: 20.1.3
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
7. Your patient drinks so much alcohol that it has considerably impaired both her mental and
physical health. What type of drinking does your patient do?
A. harmful drinking
B. binge drinking
C. at-risk drinking
D. hazardous drinking*
LO: 20.2.1
Difficulty: Moderate
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
8. When a person’s behavior changes and they seek to drink alcohol even though it causes
negative consequences for them, what has happened?
A. They have become intoxicated.
B. They have become tolerant of alcohol.
C. They have become addicted to alcohol.*
D. They have become a binge drinker.
LO: 20.2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember, Understand, Apply
AACN: 1.1b
9. Your patient is going through alcohol withdrawal and is experiencing hallucinations. How
long has it likely been since your patient’s last drink?
A. 6 to 36 hours
B. 12 to 48 hours*
C. 6 to 48 hours
D. 48 to 96 hours
LO: 20.2.1
Difficulty: Easy
Blooms: Remember, Understand
AACN: 1.1a
For more free, peer-reviewed, openly licensed resources visit OpenStax.org.
3 1/29/2026
