NURS 104 HESI MOST TESTED QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS GRADED A+ WITH RATIONALES
1. Which definition best matches the World Health Organization's description of health?
A. The absence of disease or infirmity.
B. The ability to perform daily tasks without assistance.
C. A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of
disease or infirmity.
D. Access to consistent medical care.
Rationale: WHO defines health broadly to include physical, mental, and social components; it's
more than just no disease.
2. Which statement defines mental health?
A. The absence of any psychiatric diagnosis.
B. The ability to avoid stress entirely.
C. The presence of only positive emotions.
D. A state of mental well-being in which one can cope with daily demands, reach potential,
work productively, and contribute to community.
Rationale: Mental health includes functioning, coping, productivity, and contribution to society.
3. What does the term “mental illness” refer to?
A. Temporary sadness lasting less than a week.
B. Personality traits that differ from societal norms.
C. Psychiatric disorders that have definable diagnoses.
D. Problems that are purely social in origin.
Rationale: Mental illnesses are diagnosable psychiatric disorders (per DSM criteria).
4. Which best illustrates the mental health continuum concept?
A. Mental health and illness are separate, fixed categories.
B. A person is either well or ill with no middle ground.
C. Individuals move along a spectrum from mental health to mild/moderate problems to
mental illness, which can change over time.
D. Only genetic factors determine placement on the continuum.
Rationale: The continuum model recognizes varying levels and changeability over time.
5. Which are primary contributors to mental health and well-being? (Choose the most
complete answer.)
A. Genetics only.
B. Personal choices only.
C. Social and economic circumstances, individual attributes and behaviors, and environmental
factors.
D. Medication access only.
, ESTUDYR
Rationale: Mental health is multifactorial involving social, personal, and environmental
domains.
6. What is resilience?
A. Avoiding stressful situations at all costs.
B. Never feeling sadness or grief.
C. The ability and capacity to secure resources and adapt to support well-being.
D. Having a high pain threshold.
Rationale: Resilience is about adaptation and resourcefulness in the face of adversity.
7. Which definition best describes stigma in mental health?
A. A medical classification used for research.
B. A legal term for involuntary commitment.
C. The belief that a person is flawed, leading to social shunning, disgrace, and shame.
D. A personality disorder.
Rationale: Stigma involves negative societal attitudes that devalue individuals.
8. The diathesis-stress model explains psychiatric disorders as the result of:
A. Stress alone.
B. Genetics alone.
C. An interaction between biological predisposition (diathesis) and environmental stressors.
D. Poor parenting only.
Rationale: The model posits vulnerability plus stress produce illness.
9. What major change did the consumer movement bring to mental health care?
A. More involuntary admissions.
B. Exclusive physician control over treatment.
C. Greater patient choice in treatment and focus on recovery-oriented care.
D. Elimination of community services.
Rationale: The consumer movement emphasized patient autonomy and recovery.
10. Which statement best defines recovery in mental health?
A. Complete cure within 1 month.
B. Medication compliance only.
C. A process of change enabling individuals to improve health, live self-directed lives, and
strive to reach their potential.
D. Permanent institutionalization for safety.
Rationale: Recovery is an individual process oriented toward wellness and autonomy.
11. Which of the following is NOT typically listed as an attribute of good mental health?
A. Effective coping.
B. Resiliency.
C. Inability to form meaningful relationships.
D. Self-awareness.