MENTAL HEALTH FIRST AID STUDY EXAM GUIDE
UPDATED STUDY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔True or false? Many people with common mental disorders do not seek professional
help. - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? Without proper treatment, mental health disorders are likely to worsen
and impact a variety of places in a person's life. - ✔✔True
✔✔What are some barriers to care in your community? - ✔✔Cost, stigma, logistics, and
awareness
✔✔True or false? People can use willpower to pull themselves out of a mental or
substance use disorder. - ✔✔False
✔✔What is the term for the amount of disruption a health problem causes to a person's
ability to work, carry out daily activities, and engage in satisfying relationships? -
✔✔Disability
✔✔Name the concept developed by the Harvard School of Public Health, World Health
Organization, and World Bank that gives meaningful data about the impact of different
illnesses and conditions. - ✔✔Disease burden
✔✔Disease burden calculates what? - ✔✔Disability, premature death, and other factors
✔✔What type of data helps public health officials and programs examine the impact of
disorders and diseases? - ✔✔Disease burden data
✔✔The leading cause of disability in the United States is what? - ✔✔Neuropsychiatric
disorders (mental disorders, behavioral disorders, neurological disorders)
✔✔Of the different mental disorders, what is the single biggest cause of disease burden
according to the World Health Organization, 2018? - ✔✔Depression
✔✔True or false? The causes of mental health challenges are largely unknown and
often involve cultural, social, familial, psychological, and biological factors. - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? Having a risk factor does not mean someone will develop the
condition. It just increases the risk. - ✔✔True
✔✔What type of risk factor includes mistrust in the health care system and selective
expression of symptoms? - ✔✔Cultural
, ✔✔What type of risk factor includes poverty, poor peer relationships/isolation, and
stigma? - ✔✔Social
✔✔What type of risk factor includes parental substance use, stressful life events such
as moving, divorce, or loss, harsh and/or inconsistent parenting practices, and poor
parent child communication? - ✔✔Familial
✔✔What type of risk factor includes learning disorders, academic difficulties, and abuse
or trauma? - ✔✔Psychological
✔✔What type of risk factor includes chronic medical conditions, family history of mental
illness, and previous history of mental illness? - ✔✔Biological
✔✔What is a risk factor for nearly all mental health and substance use disorders, and is
especially important for mental health first aiders to know about? - ✔✔Trauma
✔✔What is the term used to describe when an individual experiences an event or a set
of circumstances as physically or emotionally harmful, with lasting adverse effects on
their functioning and overall well being? - ✔✔Trauma
✔✔Generally, traumatic events evoke what types of feelings? - ✔✔Extreme fear and
helplessness
✔✔True or false? Reactions to traumatic events are individualised - people may
experience the same event and what is perceived as traumatic for one person may be
less so for another person - ✔✔True
✔✔Traumatic experiences that occurred in childhood are called what? - ✔✔Adverse
childhood experiences, or ACEs
✔✔True or false? Adverse childhood experiences can make children feel unsafe,
insecure, and even impact bonding with caregivers - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? People who have experienced a traumatic event early in life may
experience changes in the brain. - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? People who have experienced a traumatic event early in life may
experience a disruption to typical neuro development. - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? For people who have experienced a traumatic event early in life,
challenges may begin to emerge in managing emotions, forming relationships, and
cognitive development. - ✔✔True
UPDATED STUDY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS GRADED A+
✔✔True or false? Many people with common mental disorders do not seek professional
help. - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? Without proper treatment, mental health disorders are likely to worsen
and impact a variety of places in a person's life. - ✔✔True
✔✔What are some barriers to care in your community? - ✔✔Cost, stigma, logistics, and
awareness
✔✔True or false? People can use willpower to pull themselves out of a mental or
substance use disorder. - ✔✔False
✔✔What is the term for the amount of disruption a health problem causes to a person's
ability to work, carry out daily activities, and engage in satisfying relationships? -
✔✔Disability
✔✔Name the concept developed by the Harvard School of Public Health, World Health
Organization, and World Bank that gives meaningful data about the impact of different
illnesses and conditions. - ✔✔Disease burden
✔✔Disease burden calculates what? - ✔✔Disability, premature death, and other factors
✔✔What type of data helps public health officials and programs examine the impact of
disorders and diseases? - ✔✔Disease burden data
✔✔The leading cause of disability in the United States is what? - ✔✔Neuropsychiatric
disorders (mental disorders, behavioral disorders, neurological disorders)
✔✔Of the different mental disorders, what is the single biggest cause of disease burden
according to the World Health Organization, 2018? - ✔✔Depression
✔✔True or false? The causes of mental health challenges are largely unknown and
often involve cultural, social, familial, psychological, and biological factors. - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? Having a risk factor does not mean someone will develop the
condition. It just increases the risk. - ✔✔True
✔✔What type of risk factor includes mistrust in the health care system and selective
expression of symptoms? - ✔✔Cultural
, ✔✔What type of risk factor includes poverty, poor peer relationships/isolation, and
stigma? - ✔✔Social
✔✔What type of risk factor includes parental substance use, stressful life events such
as moving, divorce, or loss, harsh and/or inconsistent parenting practices, and poor
parent child communication? - ✔✔Familial
✔✔What type of risk factor includes learning disorders, academic difficulties, and abuse
or trauma? - ✔✔Psychological
✔✔What type of risk factor includes chronic medical conditions, family history of mental
illness, and previous history of mental illness? - ✔✔Biological
✔✔What is a risk factor for nearly all mental health and substance use disorders, and is
especially important for mental health first aiders to know about? - ✔✔Trauma
✔✔What is the term used to describe when an individual experiences an event or a set
of circumstances as physically or emotionally harmful, with lasting adverse effects on
their functioning and overall well being? - ✔✔Trauma
✔✔Generally, traumatic events evoke what types of feelings? - ✔✔Extreme fear and
helplessness
✔✔True or false? Reactions to traumatic events are individualised - people may
experience the same event and what is perceived as traumatic for one person may be
less so for another person - ✔✔True
✔✔Traumatic experiences that occurred in childhood are called what? - ✔✔Adverse
childhood experiences, or ACEs
✔✔True or false? Adverse childhood experiences can make children feel unsafe,
insecure, and even impact bonding with caregivers - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? People who have experienced a traumatic event early in life may
experience changes in the brain. - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? People who have experienced a traumatic event early in life may
experience a disruption to typical neuro development. - ✔✔True
✔✔True or false? For people who have experienced a traumatic event early in life,
challenges may begin to emerge in managing emotions, forming relationships, and
cognitive development. - ✔✔True
