DAVIS ADVANTAGE FOR
TOWNSEND'S PSYCHIATRIC
MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
11TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)KARYN MORGAN
TEST BANK
1) Biological response to acute stress
Reference: Ch. 1 — The Concept of Stress Adaptation — Stress
as a Biological Response
Question:
A client arrives in the emergency department after a car
accident and says, “My heart is pounding, and I feel like I cannot
think clearly.” The nurse notes dilated pupils, rapid respirations,
,and sweaty palms. Which nursing interpretation is most
accurate?
A. The client is experiencing a psychotic reaction to trauma
B. The client’s body is demonstrating a normal acute stress
response
C. The client is having a medication side effect from anxiety
treatment
D. The client is using avoidance as a maladaptive coping
strategy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
B is correct. These findings are classic physiologic signs of
the body’s acute stress response, which prepares the person to
respond to a perceived threat. The nurse should recognize this
as an adaptive biologic reaction rather than assuming
pathology.
A is incorrect. Psychosis involves impaired reality testing,
hallucinations, or delusions, not the immediate physiologic
response described here.
C is incorrect. No medication history suggests a drug
reaction, and the signs fit stress physiology more directly.
D is incorrect. Avoidance is a coping pattern, but the
scenario is focused on biologic stress activation, not coping
behavior.
,Teaching Point:
Acute stress often causes sympathetic nervous system
activation and is not automatically pathology.
Citation:
Morgan, K. (2024). Davis Advantage for Townsend’s Psychiatric
Mental Health Nursing (11th ed.). Ch. 1.
2) Stress as an environmental event
Reference: Ch. 1 — The Concept of Stress Adaptation — Stress
as an Environmental Event
Question:
A college student says, “I was doing fine until I lost my housing
and had to move twice in one week.” The student now reports
poor sleep, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. Which factor
is the clearest environmental stressor?
A. Difficulty concentrating
B. Poor sleep
C. Housing instability
D. Irritability
Correct Answer: C
Rationale:
C is correct. Housing instability is the external event that
functions as the stressor. The other findings are possible stress
responses, not the actual environmental event.
, A is incorrect. Difficulty concentrating is a response to
stress, not the stressor itself.
B is incorrect. Poor sleep is a stress effect rather than the
environmental trigger.
D is incorrect. Irritability is also a response, not the
precipitating event.
Teaching Point:
Identify the stressor first; symptoms are the response, not the
event.
Citation:
Morgan, K. (2024). Davis Advantage for Townsend’s Psychiatric
Mental Health Nursing (11th ed.). Ch. 1.
3) Transaction between person and environment
Reference: Ch. 1 — The Concept of Stress Adaptation — Stress
as a Transaction Between the Individual and the Environment
Question:
A client states, “My coworkers handled the same staffing
shortage better than I did, so I must be weak.” The nurse
recognizes that stress response is best understood as which
process?
A. A fixed reaction that is identical for all people
B. A transaction influenced by personal appraisal and resources
TOWNSEND'S PSYCHIATRIC
MENTAL HEALTH NURSING
11TH EDITION
• AUTHOR(S)KARYN MORGAN
TEST BANK
1) Biological response to acute stress
Reference: Ch. 1 — The Concept of Stress Adaptation — Stress
as a Biological Response
Question:
A client arrives in the emergency department after a car
accident and says, “My heart is pounding, and I feel like I cannot
think clearly.” The nurse notes dilated pupils, rapid respirations,
,and sweaty palms. Which nursing interpretation is most
accurate?
A. The client is experiencing a psychotic reaction to trauma
B. The client’s body is demonstrating a normal acute stress
response
C. The client is having a medication side effect from anxiety
treatment
D. The client is using avoidance as a maladaptive coping
strategy
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
B is correct. These findings are classic physiologic signs of
the body’s acute stress response, which prepares the person to
respond to a perceived threat. The nurse should recognize this
as an adaptive biologic reaction rather than assuming
pathology.
A is incorrect. Psychosis involves impaired reality testing,
hallucinations, or delusions, not the immediate physiologic
response described here.
C is incorrect. No medication history suggests a drug
reaction, and the signs fit stress physiology more directly.
D is incorrect. Avoidance is a coping pattern, but the
scenario is focused on biologic stress activation, not coping
behavior.
,Teaching Point:
Acute stress often causes sympathetic nervous system
activation and is not automatically pathology.
Citation:
Morgan, K. (2024). Davis Advantage for Townsend’s Psychiatric
Mental Health Nursing (11th ed.). Ch. 1.
2) Stress as an environmental event
Reference: Ch. 1 — The Concept of Stress Adaptation — Stress
as an Environmental Event
Question:
A college student says, “I was doing fine until I lost my housing
and had to move twice in one week.” The student now reports
poor sleep, irritability, and difficulty concentrating. Which factor
is the clearest environmental stressor?
A. Difficulty concentrating
B. Poor sleep
C. Housing instability
D. Irritability
Correct Answer: C
Rationale:
C is correct. Housing instability is the external event that
functions as the stressor. The other findings are possible stress
responses, not the actual environmental event.
, A is incorrect. Difficulty concentrating is a response to
stress, not the stressor itself.
B is incorrect. Poor sleep is a stress effect rather than the
environmental trigger.
D is incorrect. Irritability is also a response, not the
precipitating event.
Teaching Point:
Identify the stressor first; symptoms are the response, not the
event.
Citation:
Morgan, K. (2024). Davis Advantage for Townsend’s Psychiatric
Mental Health Nursing (11th ed.). Ch. 1.
3) Transaction between person and environment
Reference: Ch. 1 — The Concept of Stress Adaptation — Stress
as a Transaction Between the Individual and the Environment
Question:
A client states, “My coworkers handled the same staffing
shortage better than I did, so I must be weak.” The nurse
recognizes that stress response is best understood as which
process?
A. A fixed reaction that is identical for all people
B. A transaction influenced by personal appraisal and resources
