NU 673 Exam 2 Actual Exam 2026/2027 –
Complete Exam-Style Questions with
Detailed Rationales | 100% Verified | Pass
Guaranteed – A+ Graded
1. A patient reports hearing voices that comment on their actions. This is an example of:
A. Illusion
B. Hallucination
C. Delusion
D. Obsession
Answer: B. Hallucination
Explanation: Hallucinations are perceptual experiences that occur without an external stimulus.
Auditory hallucinations, such as voices commenting on behavior, are characteristic of psychotic
disorders. Illusions are misperceptions of real stimuli; delusions are fixed false beliefs; obsessions
are intrusive thoughts .
2. A patient expresses the belief that the FBI is monitoring their thoughts through radio
waves. This is an example of:
A. Hallucination
B. Illusion
C. Delusion
D. Obsession
Answer: C. Delusion
Explanation: Delusions are fixed, false beliefs that are not amenable to change despite
contradictory evidence. This patient's belief about FBI monitoring is a persecutory delusion, a
common feature of psychotic disorders .
3. A patient presents with anhedonia, psychomotor retardation, and excessive guilt. These
symptoms are most characteristic of:
,A. Manic episode
B. Major depressive episode
C. Hypomanic episode
D. Panic disorder
Answer: B. Major depressive episode
Explanation: Anhedonia (loss of pleasure), psychomotor retardation, and excessive guilt are
core symptoms of major depressive episodes. These represent the cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor domains of depression .
4. A patient presents with pressured speech, grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, and
engaging in risky behaviors. These symptoms are most consistent with:
A. Major depressive episode
B. Manic episode
C. Hypomanic episode
D. Mixed episode
Answer: B. Manic episode
Explanation: A manic episode is characterized by a distinct period of abnormally and
persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, lasting at least one week, with symptoms
including grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, and risky behaviors .
5. Which of the following is NOT a component of the Mental Status Examination (MSE)?
A. Appearance
B. Behavior
C. Laboratory results
D. Thought process
Answer: C. Laboratory results
Explanation: Laboratory results are part of the physical workup, not the MSE. The MSE includes
appearance, behavior, speech, mood, affect, thought process, thought content, perception,
cognition, insight, and judgment .
6. Which of the following is a cardinal feature of the mental status examination?
A. Patient's medical history
B. Patient's family history
,C. Patient's insight and judgment
D. Patient's social history
Answer: C. Patient's insight and judgment
Explanation: Insight (awareness of one's condition) and judgment (ability to make sound
decisions) are essential components of the MSE. They are critical for assessing capacity, safety,
and treatment adherence .
7. The APRN is assessing a patient's risk for suicide. Which screening tool is most
appropriate?
A. PHQ-9
B. GAD-7
C. SAFE-T (Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage)
D. CAGE-AID
Answer: C. SAFE-T
Explanation: The SAFE-T is a structured approach to suicide risk assessment that identifies risk
factors, protective factors, and guides triage decisions. The PHQ-9 screens for depression, GAD-
7 screens for anxiety, and CAGE-AID screens for substance use .
8. Which of the following is a positive symptom of schizophrenia?
A. Apathy
B. Social withdrawal
C. Auditory hallucinations
D. Flat affect
Answer: C. Auditory hallucinations
Explanation: Positive symptoms are an excess or distortion of normal functions and include
hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior. Negative symptoms
are deficits in normal functions and include apathy, social withdrawal, flat affect, and alogia .
9. Which of the following are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
A. Delusions and hallucinations
B. Restricted emotion, alogia, avolition, and anhedonia
C. Disorganized speech and behavior
D. Grandiosity and paranoia
, Answer: B. Restricted emotion, alogia, avolition, and anhedonia
Explanation: Negative symptoms include diminished emotional expression (flat affect), avolition
(lack of motivation), alogia (poverty of speech), anhedonia, and asociality. Positive symptoms
include hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking .
10. What is the primary difference between hypomania and mania?
A. Hypomania is more severe
B. Hypomania causes less impairment and does not require hospitalization
C. Hypomania lasts longer
D. Hypomania includes psychotic features
Answer: B. Hypomania causes less impairment and does not require hospitalization
Explanation: Hypomania is a milder form of elevated mood that is less severe and causes less
impairment than full mania. Hypomanic episodes do not require hospitalization and are not
associated with psychotic features .
11. A patient with a history of trauma presents with hypervigilance, exaggerated startle
response, and avoidance of reminders. This presentation is most consistent with:
A. Generalized anxiety disorder
B. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
C. Panic disorder
D. Social anxiety disorder
Answer: B. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Explanation: PTSD is characterized by exposure to a traumatic event followed by intrusive
symptoms, avoidance of reminders, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations
in arousal and reactivity (hypervigilance, exaggerated startle) .
12. PTSD is characterized by symptoms that persist for more than:
A. 1 month
B. 3 months
C. 6 months
D. 1 year
Answer: A. 1 month
Complete Exam-Style Questions with
Detailed Rationales | 100% Verified | Pass
Guaranteed – A+ Graded
1. A patient reports hearing voices that comment on their actions. This is an example of:
A. Illusion
B. Hallucination
C. Delusion
D. Obsession
Answer: B. Hallucination
Explanation: Hallucinations are perceptual experiences that occur without an external stimulus.
Auditory hallucinations, such as voices commenting on behavior, are characteristic of psychotic
disorders. Illusions are misperceptions of real stimuli; delusions are fixed false beliefs; obsessions
are intrusive thoughts .
2. A patient expresses the belief that the FBI is monitoring their thoughts through radio
waves. This is an example of:
A. Hallucination
B. Illusion
C. Delusion
D. Obsession
Answer: C. Delusion
Explanation: Delusions are fixed, false beliefs that are not amenable to change despite
contradictory evidence. This patient's belief about FBI monitoring is a persecutory delusion, a
common feature of psychotic disorders .
3. A patient presents with anhedonia, psychomotor retardation, and excessive guilt. These
symptoms are most characteristic of:
,A. Manic episode
B. Major depressive episode
C. Hypomanic episode
D. Panic disorder
Answer: B. Major depressive episode
Explanation: Anhedonia (loss of pleasure), psychomotor retardation, and excessive guilt are
core symptoms of major depressive episodes. These represent the cognitive, affective, and
psychomotor domains of depression .
4. A patient presents with pressured speech, grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, and
engaging in risky behaviors. These symptoms are most consistent with:
A. Major depressive episode
B. Manic episode
C. Hypomanic episode
D. Mixed episode
Answer: B. Manic episode
Explanation: A manic episode is characterized by a distinct period of abnormally and
persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood, lasting at least one week, with symptoms
including grandiosity, decreased need for sleep, pressured speech, and risky behaviors .
5. Which of the following is NOT a component of the Mental Status Examination (MSE)?
A. Appearance
B. Behavior
C. Laboratory results
D. Thought process
Answer: C. Laboratory results
Explanation: Laboratory results are part of the physical workup, not the MSE. The MSE includes
appearance, behavior, speech, mood, affect, thought process, thought content, perception,
cognition, insight, and judgment .
6. Which of the following is a cardinal feature of the mental status examination?
A. Patient's medical history
B. Patient's family history
,C. Patient's insight and judgment
D. Patient's social history
Answer: C. Patient's insight and judgment
Explanation: Insight (awareness of one's condition) and judgment (ability to make sound
decisions) are essential components of the MSE. They are critical for assessing capacity, safety,
and treatment adherence .
7. The APRN is assessing a patient's risk for suicide. Which screening tool is most
appropriate?
A. PHQ-9
B. GAD-7
C. SAFE-T (Suicide Assessment Five-Step Evaluation and Triage)
D. CAGE-AID
Answer: C. SAFE-T
Explanation: The SAFE-T is a structured approach to suicide risk assessment that identifies risk
factors, protective factors, and guides triage decisions. The PHQ-9 screens for depression, GAD-
7 screens for anxiety, and CAGE-AID screens for substance use .
8. Which of the following is a positive symptom of schizophrenia?
A. Apathy
B. Social withdrawal
C. Auditory hallucinations
D. Flat affect
Answer: C. Auditory hallucinations
Explanation: Positive symptoms are an excess or distortion of normal functions and include
hallucinations, delusions, disorganized speech, and disorganized behavior. Negative symptoms
are deficits in normal functions and include apathy, social withdrawal, flat affect, and alogia .
9. Which of the following are negative symptoms of schizophrenia?
A. Delusions and hallucinations
B. Restricted emotion, alogia, avolition, and anhedonia
C. Disorganized speech and behavior
D. Grandiosity and paranoia
, Answer: B. Restricted emotion, alogia, avolition, and anhedonia
Explanation: Negative symptoms include diminished emotional expression (flat affect), avolition
(lack of motivation), alogia (poverty of speech), anhedonia, and asociality. Positive symptoms
include hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking .
10. What is the primary difference between hypomania and mania?
A. Hypomania is more severe
B. Hypomania causes less impairment and does not require hospitalization
C. Hypomania lasts longer
D. Hypomania includes psychotic features
Answer: B. Hypomania causes less impairment and does not require hospitalization
Explanation: Hypomania is a milder form of elevated mood that is less severe and causes less
impairment than full mania. Hypomanic episodes do not require hospitalization and are not
associated with psychotic features .
11. A patient with a history of trauma presents with hypervigilance, exaggerated startle
response, and avoidance of reminders. This presentation is most consistent with:
A. Generalized anxiety disorder
B. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
C. Panic disorder
D. Social anxiety disorder
Answer: B. Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Explanation: PTSD is characterized by exposure to a traumatic event followed by intrusive
symptoms, avoidance of reminders, negative alterations in cognition and mood, and alterations
in arousal and reactivity (hypervigilance, exaggerated startle) .
12. PTSD is characterized by symptoms that persist for more than:
A. 1 month
B. 3 months
C. 6 months
D. 1 year
Answer: A. 1 month
