Mental Health Nursing Psychotic Disorders 2026
Practice Test Questions Detailed Rationales
Schizophrenia Thought Disorders Hallucinations
Delusions Patient Safety Clinical Care
SECTION 1: SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM DISORDERS (Questions 1–
32)
1. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia. Which finding is a positive
symptom of schizophrenia?
A. Anhedonia
B. Hallucinations
C. Flat affect
D. Social withdrawal
Rationale: Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are added experiences that are not
present in healthy individuals and include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized
speech, and disorganized behavior. Negative symptoms involve deficits in normal
function and include anhedonia, flat affect, social withdrawal, and poverty of
speech.
2. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia. Which finding is a negative
symptom?
A. Hallucinations
B. Delusions
C. Avolition
D. Disorganized speech
Rationale: Avolition is a negative symptom characterized by lack of motivation
and inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities. Hallucinations,
delusions, and disorganized speech are positive symptoms.
,3. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has disorganized
speech. Which finding is characteristic?
A. Loose associations with tangentiality
B. Clear and logical speech
C. Pressured speech
D. Mutism
Rationale: Disorganized speech in schizophrenia is characterized by loose
associations (derailment), tangentiality, incoherence, and word salad. Pressured
speech is more characteristic of mania. Mutism is a negative symptom.
4. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has disorganized
behavior. Which finding is characteristic?
A. Difficulty performing activities of daily living
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Disorganized behavior in schizophrenia includes difficulty performing
activities of daily living, bizarre behavior, and catatonia. Grandiosity is a manic
symptom. Pressured speech is a manic symptom.
5. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has catatonia. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Waxy flexibility with stupor
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Catatonia is characterized by waxy flexibility (the client maintains
positions imposed by others), stupor, mutism, negativism, and posturing. It is a
severe form of disorganized behavior.
,6. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has anosognosia.
Which finding is characteristic?
A. Inability to recognize their own illness
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Anosognosia is the inability to recognize one's own illness or deficits.
It is common in schizophrenia and can affect treatment adherence.
7. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has alogia. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Poverty of speech
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Alogia is a negative symptom characterized by poverty of speech
(reduced speech output). It is different from mutism, which is the absence of
speech.
8. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has affective flattening.
Which finding is characteristic?
A. Reduced emotional expression
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Affective flattening is a negative symptom characterized by reduced
emotional expression (blunted or flat affect).
, 9. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has avolition. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Lack of motivation
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Avolition is a negative symptom characterized by lack of motivation
and inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities.
10. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has asociality. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Social withdrawal
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Asociality is a negative symptom characterized by social withdrawal
and reduced interest in social interactions.
11. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has anhedonia. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Inability to experience pleasure
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Avolition
Rationale: Anhedonia is a negative symptom characterized by the inability to
experience pleasure from activities that are normally enjoyable.
12. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has delusions of
persecution. Which finding is characteristic?
Practice Test Questions Detailed Rationales
Schizophrenia Thought Disorders Hallucinations
Delusions Patient Safety Clinical Care
SECTION 1: SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM DISORDERS (Questions 1–
32)
1. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia. Which finding is a positive
symptom of schizophrenia?
A. Anhedonia
B. Hallucinations
C. Flat affect
D. Social withdrawal
Rationale: Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are added experiences that are not
present in healthy individuals and include hallucinations, delusions, disorganized
speech, and disorganized behavior. Negative symptoms involve deficits in normal
function and include anhedonia, flat affect, social withdrawal, and poverty of
speech.
2. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia. Which finding is a negative
symptom?
A. Hallucinations
B. Delusions
C. Avolition
D. Disorganized speech
Rationale: Avolition is a negative symptom characterized by lack of motivation
and inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities. Hallucinations,
delusions, and disorganized speech are positive symptoms.
,3. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has disorganized
speech. Which finding is characteristic?
A. Loose associations with tangentiality
B. Clear and logical speech
C. Pressured speech
D. Mutism
Rationale: Disorganized speech in schizophrenia is characterized by loose
associations (derailment), tangentiality, incoherence, and word salad. Pressured
speech is more characteristic of mania. Mutism is a negative symptom.
4. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has disorganized
behavior. Which finding is characteristic?
A. Difficulty performing activities of daily living
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Disorganized behavior in schizophrenia includes difficulty performing
activities of daily living, bizarre behavior, and catatonia. Grandiosity is a manic
symptom. Pressured speech is a manic symptom.
5. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has catatonia. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Waxy flexibility with stupor
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Catatonia is characterized by waxy flexibility (the client maintains
positions imposed by others), stupor, mutism, negativism, and posturing. It is a
severe form of disorganized behavior.
,6. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has anosognosia.
Which finding is characteristic?
A. Inability to recognize their own illness
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Anosognosia is the inability to recognize one's own illness or deficits.
It is common in schizophrenia and can affect treatment adherence.
7. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has alogia. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Poverty of speech
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Alogia is a negative symptom characterized by poverty of speech
(reduced speech output). It is different from mutism, which is the absence of
speech.
8. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has affective flattening.
Which finding is characteristic?
A. Reduced emotional expression
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Affective flattening is a negative symptom characterized by reduced
emotional expression (blunted or flat affect).
, 9. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has avolition. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Lack of motivation
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Avolition is a negative symptom characterized by lack of motivation
and inability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities.
10. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has asociality. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Social withdrawal
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Anhedonia
Rationale: Asociality is a negative symptom characterized by social withdrawal
and reduced interest in social interactions.
11. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has anhedonia. Which
finding is characteristic?
A. Inability to experience pleasure
B. Grandiosity
C. Pressured speech
D. Avolition
Rationale: Anhedonia is a negative symptom characterized by the inability to
experience pleasure from activities that are normally enjoyable.
12. A nurse is assessing a client with schizophrenia who has delusions of
persecution. Which finding is characteristic?
