Mid-term Exam
SUMMER QTR LATEST
2025 UPDATE
• Question 1
Answer:
Gamma-
, aminobutyric From a biological perspective, all of the following
acid neurotransmitters are implicit in the anxiety FEEDBACK
Answers: Gamma- except:
aminobutyric
acid
Selected
Norepinephrine
Serotonin
Dopamine
FEEDBACK (d) is the correct answer While dopamine is clearly implicit in other
mental health disorders, such as schizophrenia, it is not among Feedback: the
neurotransmitters linked to the anxiety FEEDBACK.
• Question 2
Mr. Kendall is a 47-year old male who is presented to care by his younger sister,
Megan. Mr. Kendall has spent his entire adult life living in an apartment that
was attached to his parents’ home. His mother died a few weeks ago, and the
property is listed for sale. Mr. Kendall will have to move, and while discussing
this with him, Megan became very concerned. He has apparently been
considered odd all his life, has never married or even dated as far as Megan
knows, but she had no idea how odd he was. When his mother died, he seemed
disconnected from reality and had episodes of talking to people who weren’t
present. Megan says that sometimes she does not even understand what he is
talking about. He seems to think he has psychic powers, and that he doesn’t
need to move because he knows the house will not be sold. When considering a
diagnosis of schizotypal disorder, the PMHNP expects which of the following to
be present in the history?
, Selected
Answer: A history of
schizophrenia of a
Answers:
first- degree
relative
A history of
schizophrenia of a first-
degree relative
Sustained psychosis
predating his mother’s
death
Comorbid Asperger’s syndrome
FEEDBACK
Feedback: Apparent frank thought disorder
(a) is the correct answer. A strong family history of schizophrenia
supports a diagnosis of schizotypal personality disorder. Sustained
psychosis and frank thought disorder are consistent with
schizophrenia and help differentiate it from schizotypal personality.
Comorbid Asperger’s syndrome is not associated with this disorder
but is sometimes a differential diagnosis in patients with schizoid
personality disorder.
• Question 3
Becci is a 31-year-old female who presents to the PMHNP for evaluation after
being referred by her friend who is a patient of the practice. She describes a
relatively acute, recent onset of panic attacks. Becci says that ―out of the
blue‖ her heart starts to race, her mouth gets dry, she gets shaky, and feels
like she cannot get her breath. She is afraid because her friend has panic
disorder and Becci knows that before her friend got treatment, she basically
would not leave the house in case an attack happened. The PMHNP recognizes
that the immediate priority in assessment for Becci is:
Selected
Answer: A thorough physical
Answers: examination
A thorough physical examination
A family history of
mental health disease
, A urine drug screen
An assessment for
phobic disorder
FEEDBACK (a) is the correct answer. While these are elements of a panic attack,
there are a variety of organic conditions that can
Feedback: cause these symptoms. Becci needs a physical examination and
appropriate laboratory assessment to rule out physiologic causes of
her symptoms, such as thyroid disease. The remaining elements
above will all be part of the mental health assessment once physical
health is determined.
• Question 4
The PMHNP is working on a graduate program in which he is hoping to develop
a new personality assessment tool. After an exhaustive review of the literature
and many months of work, he developed a tool to use in a research study and
needs to establish its psychometric properties. He distributes the tool to four
different professionals in the field and asks that they assess whether the
questions appear to measure what they are purported to measure. This is an
assessment of:
Selected
Answer:
Face validity
Answers: Internal consistency
reliability
Parallel form reliability
Construct validity
Face validity
FEEDBACK (d) is the correct answer. Assessing whether the items
measure what they appear to measure is face validity. Feedback:
Construct validity uses data outside of the test to measure validity.
Reliability evaluates whether the tests measure what it is supposed to measure
consistently.
• Question 5