OpenStax Psychiatric–Mental Health Nursing | Complete Test
Bank | NCLEXStyle Questions with Answers & Rationales
1. A nurse is assessing a client's mental health status. Which statement best reflects the contemporary
understanding of the relationship between mental health and mental illness?
A. "Mental health means you are happy all the time, while mental illness means you are sad."
B. "Mental health and mental illness are two separate categories—you either have one or the other."
C. "Mental health and mental illness exist on a continuum, and your position can change over time."
D. "Mental illness is caused by bad parenting, while mental health is just about having good genes."
Answer: C
Rationale: Contemporary understanding recognizes that mental health and mental illness exist on a
dynamic continuum. A person's position on this continuum can shift over time based on various factors
including life circumstances, coping abilities, and access to treatment. Options A, B, and D are overly
simplistic, inaccurate, and stigmatizing.
2. The nurse is assessing factors contributing to the wellbeing of a newly admitted client. Which factor
would the nurse identify as having a positive impact on the individual's mental health?
A. Not needing others for companionship
B. The ability to effectively manage stress
C. A family history of mental illness
D. Striving for total selfreliance
Answer: B
,Rationale: Individual factors influencing mental health include biologic makeup, autonomy,
independence, selfesteem, capacity for growth, vitality, ability to find meaning in life, emotional
resilience or hardiness, sense of belonging, reality orientation, and coping or stress management
abilities. Healthy individuals need others for companionship, and total selfreliance is neither possible nor
healthy.
3. A client asks the nurse about the purpose of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1950s. Which
response by the nurse is most accurate?
A. "It was designed to punish people with mental illness who were believed to be possessed."
B. "It was meant to provide food and shelter for the mentally ill in safe havens."
C. "It led to the widespread release of patients from state hospitals primarily due to the establishment
of community mental health centers."
D. "It was intended to remove dangerous people with mental illness from the community."
Answer: C
Rationale: Deinstitutionalization was primarily made possible by the establishment of community
mental health centers nationwide. Asylums were originally meant to be safe havens with food, shelter,
and humane treatment, but they became overcrowded and understaffed, leading to the movement
toward communitybased care.
4. A newly graduated RN is performing an initial assessment on a 68yearold male who reports a decline
in cognitive abilities. Which risk factor does the nurse recognize as possibly contributing to the client's
memory issues?
A. No family history of dementia
B. Healthy weight and BMI
C. History of skin cancer
,D. History of high blood pressure
Answer: D
Rationale: History of high blood pressure is a recognized risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia.
Cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension can contribute to vascular dementia and other
neurocognitive disorders.
5. Henry, an 80yearold client being followed for mild cognitive disorder, asks, "I don't understand why
you keep telling me to do crossword puzzles." What is the nurse's best response?
A. "Doing crossword puzzles helps to keep the brain healthy by 'working it.'"
B. "Doing crossword puzzles will keep you from getting bored."
C. "Doing crossword puzzles is an inexpensive way to be entertained."
D. "Doing crossword puzzles is what we recommend to all our older clients."
Answer: A
Rationale: Cognitive stimulation activities such as crossword puzzles help maintain brain health by
providing mental exercise. The best response educates the client about the therapeutic benefit rather
than simply stating it as a recommendation or entertainment.
6. Nurse John visits an 88yearold male with dementia and notes he is more confused than normal,
agitated, and incontinent. What interventions should the nurse implement to determine the cause of
this increased confusion? (Select all that apply)
A. Drawing labs
, B. Taking a set of vital signs
C. Calling the physician
D. Collecting a urine specimen
Answer: A, B, C, D
Rationale: Acute changes in confusion in a client with dementia may indicate delirium caused by
infection, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, or other medical conditions. Labs, vital signs, urine
specimen, and physician notification are all appropriate interventions to identify the underlying cause of
the acute change.
7. A family member of a person with delirium asks the nurse to explain the main difference between
delirium and dementia. Which statement is correct?
A. "Dementia resolves quickly once the cause is found."
B. "Delirium resolves quickly once the cause is identified and treated."
C. "The terms delirium and dementia are interchangeable."
D. "Delirium will continue to worsen. There is no cure."
Answer: B
Rationale: Delirium is an acute, reversible condition that typically resolves once the underlying cause is
identified and treated. Dementia is a chronic, progressive condition that is generally irreversible. The
terms are not interchangeable.
8. A nurse working on an inpatient unit for older adults is caring for a 90yearold female who is worried
about her baby. What is an appropriate intervention?
Bank | NCLEXStyle Questions with Answers & Rationales
1. A nurse is assessing a client's mental health status. Which statement best reflects the contemporary
understanding of the relationship between mental health and mental illness?
A. "Mental health means you are happy all the time, while mental illness means you are sad."
B. "Mental health and mental illness are two separate categories—you either have one or the other."
C. "Mental health and mental illness exist on a continuum, and your position can change over time."
D. "Mental illness is caused by bad parenting, while mental health is just about having good genes."
Answer: C
Rationale: Contemporary understanding recognizes that mental health and mental illness exist on a
dynamic continuum. A person's position on this continuum can shift over time based on various factors
including life circumstances, coping abilities, and access to treatment. Options A, B, and D are overly
simplistic, inaccurate, and stigmatizing.
2. The nurse is assessing factors contributing to the wellbeing of a newly admitted client. Which factor
would the nurse identify as having a positive impact on the individual's mental health?
A. Not needing others for companionship
B. The ability to effectively manage stress
C. A family history of mental illness
D. Striving for total selfreliance
Answer: B
,Rationale: Individual factors influencing mental health include biologic makeup, autonomy,
independence, selfesteem, capacity for growth, vitality, ability to find meaning in life, emotional
resilience or hardiness, sense of belonging, reality orientation, and coping or stress management
abilities. Healthy individuals need others for companionship, and total selfreliance is neither possible nor
healthy.
3. A client asks the nurse about the purpose of the deinstitutionalization movement of the 1950s. Which
response by the nurse is most accurate?
A. "It was designed to punish people with mental illness who were believed to be possessed."
B. "It was meant to provide food and shelter for the mentally ill in safe havens."
C. "It led to the widespread release of patients from state hospitals primarily due to the establishment
of community mental health centers."
D. "It was intended to remove dangerous people with mental illness from the community."
Answer: C
Rationale: Deinstitutionalization was primarily made possible by the establishment of community
mental health centers nationwide. Asylums were originally meant to be safe havens with food, shelter,
and humane treatment, but they became overcrowded and understaffed, leading to the movement
toward communitybased care.
4. A newly graduated RN is performing an initial assessment on a 68yearold male who reports a decline
in cognitive abilities. Which risk factor does the nurse recognize as possibly contributing to the client's
memory issues?
A. No family history of dementia
B. Healthy weight and BMI
C. History of skin cancer
,D. History of high blood pressure
Answer: D
Rationale: History of high blood pressure is a recognized risk factor for cognitive decline and dementia.
Cardiovascular risk factors including hypertension can contribute to vascular dementia and other
neurocognitive disorders.
5. Henry, an 80yearold client being followed for mild cognitive disorder, asks, "I don't understand why
you keep telling me to do crossword puzzles." What is the nurse's best response?
A. "Doing crossword puzzles helps to keep the brain healthy by 'working it.'"
B. "Doing crossword puzzles will keep you from getting bored."
C. "Doing crossword puzzles is an inexpensive way to be entertained."
D. "Doing crossword puzzles is what we recommend to all our older clients."
Answer: A
Rationale: Cognitive stimulation activities such as crossword puzzles help maintain brain health by
providing mental exercise. The best response educates the client about the therapeutic benefit rather
than simply stating it as a recommendation or entertainment.
6. Nurse John visits an 88yearold male with dementia and notes he is more confused than normal,
agitated, and incontinent. What interventions should the nurse implement to determine the cause of
this increased confusion? (Select all that apply)
A. Drawing labs
, B. Taking a set of vital signs
C. Calling the physician
D. Collecting a urine specimen
Answer: A, B, C, D
Rationale: Acute changes in confusion in a client with dementia may indicate delirium caused by
infection, dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, or other medical conditions. Labs, vital signs, urine
specimen, and physician notification are all appropriate interventions to identify the underlying cause of
the acute change.
7. A family member of a person with delirium asks the nurse to explain the main difference between
delirium and dementia. Which statement is correct?
A. "Dementia resolves quickly once the cause is found."
B. "Delirium resolves quickly once the cause is identified and treated."
C. "The terms delirium and dementia are interchangeable."
D. "Delirium will continue to worsen. There is no cure."
Answer: B
Rationale: Delirium is an acute, reversible condition that typically resolves once the underlying cause is
identified and treated. Dementia is a chronic, progressive condition that is generally irreversible. The
terms are not interchangeable.
8. A nurse working on an inpatient unit for older adults is caring for a 90yearold female who is worried
about her baby. What is an appropriate intervention?
