HSC 526 – Final Exam UPDATED
COVERAGE AREAS MOSTLY TESTED
1. Stress, Eustress, Distress, and Hypostress
2. General Adaptation Syndrome and Physiological Stress Response
3. Coping Mechanisms, Defense Mechanisms, and Stress Management
4. Anxiety Disorders, Phobias, and PTSD
5. Depressive Disorders, Bipolar Disorder, and Suicide Risk
6. Schizophrenia and Psychotic Disorders
7. Personality Disorders and Impulse Control
8. Substance Use Disorders and Addiction
9. Therapeutic Communication and Psychotherapy Approaches
10. Mental Health Promotion, Prevention, and Community Resources
HSC 526 – Final Exam UPDATED
,1. Which term did Hans Selye use to describe the type of stress that is
experienced as positive, motivating, and invigorating rather than harmful?
A. ☐ Distress
B. ☐ Hyperstress
C. ☑ Eustress
D. ☐ Hypostress
Rationale: Eustress is the beneficial form of stress that energizes and motivates a
person, whereas distress is harmful and hyperstress is excessive . 1
2. A patient reports feeling bored, unmotivated, and underchallenged at work
because there are not enough demands placed on them. This presentation best
illustrates which variation of stress?
A. ☐ Eustress
B. ☑ Hypostress
C. ☐ Distress
D. ☐ Hyperstress
,Rationale: Hypostress results from insufficient stimulation and leads to boredom
and apathy, distinct from harmful distress or positive eustress . 1
3. The general adaptation syndrome, as described by Selye, proceeds through
which three stages in the correct sequential order?
A. ☐ Alarm, adaptation, recovery
B. ☐ Resistance, exhaustion, burnout
C. ☐ Arousal, coping, homeostasis
D. ☑ Alarm, resistance, exhaustion
Rationale: The GAS consists of the alarm reaction, the resistance stage, and the
exhaustion stage if the stressor persists . 1
4. The immediate fight-or-flight response to an acute stressor is primarily
mediated by which physiological axis or system?
A. ☑ Sympathetic-adrenal-medullary axis
B. ☐ Parasympathetic nervous system
C. ☐ Hypothalamic-pituitary-thyroid axis
D. ☐ Reticular activating system
, Rationale: The SAM axis rapidly releases catecholamines, especially epinephrine
and norepinephrine, producing increased heart rate and alertness . 1
5. Which hormone is primarily released from the adrenal cortex during chronic
stress and is associated with immune suppression and metabolic alterations?
A. ☐ Epinephrine
B. ☐ Insulin
C. ☑ Cortisol
D. ☐ Thyroxine
Rationale: Cortisol is a glucocorticoid released via the HPA axis; chronic elevation
suppresses immunity and raises blood glucose . 1
6. Approximately what proportion of doctors’ visits are estimated to be stress-
related according to commonly cited stress research data?
A. ☐ 1 of 5
B. ☐ 2 of 5
C. ☑ 3 of 5
D. ☐ 4 of 5