Chapter 21: Social Responses and Personality Disorders

MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. A patient tells a nurse about being in a relationship with a significant other for more than 1 year and states, “the person is available when I need support, but neither of us tries to control the other.” The nurse can correctly assess this relationship as: a. narcissistic. b. enmeshed. c. disconnected. d. interdependent. ANS: D Interdependent relationships allow reliance on others as well as independence. Each lets the other be dependent or independent without needing to control the person‟s behavior.DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: Text Page: 382 TOP: Nursing Process: Assessment MSC: NCLEX: Psychosocial Integrity 2. Which statement best describes persons with personality disorders? a. The patient‟s coping skills are severely impaired by cognitive impairment. b. The patient‟s maladaptive behaviors involve only a single aspect of personality. c. The patient has enduring ways of relating that often provoke negative reactions. d. The patient has considerable resilience when faced with stressful life situations. ANS: C The three features of personality disorders are (1) the individual has acquired few strategies for relating, and his or her approaches are inflexible and maladaptive; (2) the individual‟s needs, perceptions, and behavior tend to foster vicious circles that continue unhelpful patterns and provoke negative reactions from others; and (3) the individual‟s adaptation is characterized by tenuous stability, fragility, and lack of resilience when faced with stress. The patient‟s treatment plan is directed toward improvement of patient condition, but it does not guarantee improvement or cure. DIF: Cognitive Level: Comprehension REF: Text Page: 385 TOP: Nursing Process: Assessment MSC: NCLEX: Psychosocial Integrity