FOUNDATIONS OF MENTAL HEALTH
CARE
8TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)MICHELLE
MORRISON-VALFRE
TEST BANK
1. Reference: Ch. 1 — The History of Mental Health Care —
Early Years
Question Stem:
A nursing student is reviewing early approaches to mental
illness and says, “People in ancient times usually understood
mental illness as a medical condition.” Which response by the
instructor is best?
In the earliest periods, mental illness was most often
interpreted through spiritual or supernatural beliefs. Nursing
,history shows that these beliefs shaped care, treatment, and
social response for centuries.
Options:
A. Mental illness was commonly viewed as possession,
punishment, or divine influence.
B. Mental illness was primarily treated with evidence-based
psychotherapy.
C. Mental illness was usually managed with modern
psychotropic medication.
D. Mental illness was understood as a result of poor parenting.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale — Correct:
This is correct because early explanations for mental illness
were usually supernatural or religious in nature. People often
believed symptoms resulted from possession, curses, or
punishment from a higher power. These beliefs influenced the
type of care people received and often led to fear, stigma, or
harsh treatment.
Rationale — Incorrect:
B is incorrect because psychotherapy did not exist in early
historical periods.
C is incorrect because psychotropic drugs are a twentieth-
century development.
D is incorrect because family theories came much later and are
not representative of early history.
,Teaching Point:
Early mental illness beliefs were usually supernatural, not
medical.
Citation:
Morrison-Valfre, M. (n.d.). Foundations of Mental Health Care
(8th ed.). Ch. 1.
2. Reference: Ch. 1 — The History of Mental Health Care —
Early Years
Question Stem:
A client with unusual behavior is being cared for by community
members in an early historical setting. The family is considering
different explanations for the behavior. Which explanation best
reflects the thinking common in that period?
The nurse recognizes that historical beliefs strongly influenced
whether a person was seen as ill, cursed, or morally flawed.
Options:
A. The behavior was likely caused by imbalance in
neurotransmitters.
B. The behavior was likely due to spiritual forces or punishment.
C. The behavior was likely treated with community-based case
management.
D. The behavior was likely managed with psychoeducation and
relapse prevention.
Correct Answer: B
, Rationale — Correct:
This is correct because early societies often explained mental
illness through spiritual or supernatural causes. People
commonly linked abnormal behavior to possession, evil spirits,
or punishment for wrongdoing. This shaped responses that
were religious rather than clinical.
Rationale — Incorrect:
A is incorrect because neurotransmitter theory is a modern
biological explanation.
C is incorrect because organized case management is a
contemporary service model.
D is incorrect because psychoeducation and relapse prevention
are modern interventions.
Teaching Point:
Historical explanations for mental illness were often spiritual
rather than scientific.
Citation:
Morrison-Valfre, M. (n.d.). Foundations of Mental Health Care
(8th ed.). Ch. 1.
3. Reference: Ch. 1 — The History of Mental Health Care —
Nineteenth-Century United States
Question Stem:
A public health nurse is teaching about the nineteenth century
and asks what reformers like Dorothea Dix most strongly
CARE
8TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)MICHELLE
MORRISON-VALFRE
TEST BANK
1. Reference: Ch. 1 — The History of Mental Health Care —
Early Years
Question Stem:
A nursing student is reviewing early approaches to mental
illness and says, “People in ancient times usually understood
mental illness as a medical condition.” Which response by the
instructor is best?
In the earliest periods, mental illness was most often
interpreted through spiritual or supernatural beliefs. Nursing
,history shows that these beliefs shaped care, treatment, and
social response for centuries.
Options:
A. Mental illness was commonly viewed as possession,
punishment, or divine influence.
B. Mental illness was primarily treated with evidence-based
psychotherapy.
C. Mental illness was usually managed with modern
psychotropic medication.
D. Mental illness was understood as a result of poor parenting.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale — Correct:
This is correct because early explanations for mental illness
were usually supernatural or religious in nature. People often
believed symptoms resulted from possession, curses, or
punishment from a higher power. These beliefs influenced the
type of care people received and often led to fear, stigma, or
harsh treatment.
Rationale — Incorrect:
B is incorrect because psychotherapy did not exist in early
historical periods.
C is incorrect because psychotropic drugs are a twentieth-
century development.
D is incorrect because family theories came much later and are
not representative of early history.
,Teaching Point:
Early mental illness beliefs were usually supernatural, not
medical.
Citation:
Morrison-Valfre, M. (n.d.). Foundations of Mental Health Care
(8th ed.). Ch. 1.
2. Reference: Ch. 1 — The History of Mental Health Care —
Early Years
Question Stem:
A client with unusual behavior is being cared for by community
members in an early historical setting. The family is considering
different explanations for the behavior. Which explanation best
reflects the thinking common in that period?
The nurse recognizes that historical beliefs strongly influenced
whether a person was seen as ill, cursed, or morally flawed.
Options:
A. The behavior was likely caused by imbalance in
neurotransmitters.
B. The behavior was likely due to spiritual forces or punishment.
C. The behavior was likely treated with community-based case
management.
D. The behavior was likely managed with psychoeducation and
relapse prevention.
Correct Answer: B
, Rationale — Correct:
This is correct because early societies often explained mental
illness through spiritual or supernatural causes. People
commonly linked abnormal behavior to possession, evil spirits,
or punishment for wrongdoing. This shaped responses that
were religious rather than clinical.
Rationale — Incorrect:
A is incorrect because neurotransmitter theory is a modern
biological explanation.
C is incorrect because organized case management is a
contemporary service model.
D is incorrect because psychoeducation and relapse prevention
are modern interventions.
Teaching Point:
Historical explanations for mental illness were often spiritual
rather than scientific.
Citation:
Morrison-Valfre, M. (n.d.). Foundations of Mental Health Care
(8th ed.). Ch. 1.
3. Reference: Ch. 1 — The History of Mental Health Care —
Nineteenth-Century United States
Question Stem:
A public health nurse is teaching about the nineteenth century
and asks what reformers like Dorothea Dix most strongly
