HESI CAT EXAM PRACTICE MANUAL 2026–2027 UPDATED EXAM 100%
HESI CAT Exam Questions and Verified Answers
2023
2026–2027 Updated Exam 100% (VERIFIED ANSWERS) | A+ GRADE BRAND NEW
Subject: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing & Clinical Psychiatry HESI CAT Board Review
Scope: 200 Highly Rigorous, Clinical Scenario Practice Questions with Detailed Evidence-Based Rationales
Clinical Standards: In alignment with DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and advanced practice nursing guidelines
QUESTION 1 | NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
Question: Select the neurotransmitter involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in
children and adolescents based on the common comorbidity of tic disorders.
A. Norepinephrine
B. GABA
C. Dopamine
D. Acetylcholine
ANSWER ■: C — Dopamine
Explanation: In pediatric populations, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is highly comorbid with tic disorders,
such as Tourette's syndrome. Both conditions share a common pathophysiological origin involving dysfunction
within the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) motor circuits. Within these circuits, dopamine plays a critical
modulatory role. Second-generation antipsychotics, which are dopamine D2 receptor antagonists, are frequently
used as adjunctive therapy in patients who do not respond fully to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),
confirming the therapeutic importance of targeting dopaminergic pathways.
Page 1
,HESI CAT EXAM PRACTICE MANUAL 2026–2027 UPDATED EXAM 100%
QUESTION 2 | SOMATOFORM AND PAIN DISORDERS
Question: Select the class of drugs most effective in treating pain disorder.
A. Opioid analgesics
B. TCA and SSRI antidepressants
C. Beta-adrenergic blockers
D. Mood stabilizers
ANSWER ■: B — TCA and SSRI antidepressants
Explanation: Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs, such as amitriptyline) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs, such as duloxetine) are highly effective in treating somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain.
These classes of medications enhance the activity of descending inhibitory pain pathways in the central nervous
system by increasing synaptic concentrations of serotonin and norepinephrine, independent of their primary
antidepressant effects. Opioid analgesics are avoided due to the high risk of tolerance, physical dependence, and
hyperalgesia in chronic pain syndromes.
QUESTION 3 | EATING DISORDERS
Question: Select the most commonly occurring eating disorder.
A. Anorexia nervosa
B. Bulimia nervosa
C. Purging
D. Binge
ANSWER ■: D — Binge
Explanation: Binge eating disorder (BED) is epidemiologically the most common eating disorder in the United
States, with a prevalence exceeding that of both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa combined. It is
characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food rapidly and to the point of discomfort,
accompanied by a subjective sense of loss of control, without the regular compensatory behaviors (such as
purging, laxative abuse, or excessive exercise) characteristic of bulimia.
Page 2
,HESI CAT EXAM PRACTICE MANUAL 2026–2027 UPDATED EXAM 100%
QUESTION 4 | FACTITIOUS AND SOMATIC DISORDERS
Question: Select the disorder in which inflicting injury to self or others is common.
A. Pain
B. Conversion
C. Somatic symptom
D. Factitious
ANSWER ■: D — Factitious
Explanation: Factitious disorder (imposed on self, or imposed on another, traditionally referred to as Munchausen
syndrome) is characterized by the deliberate fabrication, exaggeration, or physical induction of illness, injury, or
impairment. Individuals with this disorder may inject themselves with foreign substances, consume toxic
medications, or physically inflict self-injury to assume the sick role and gain medical attention. In factitious disorder
imposed on another, a caregiver inflicts injury on a dependent (typically a child) to receive secondary attention.
QUESTION 5 | DIAGNOSTIC NEUROIMAGING
Question: Select two imaging methods used to study anxiety disorders.
A. CT and TMS
B. CT and MRI
C. MRI and EKG
D. TMS and EKG
ANSWER ■: B — CT and MRI
Explanation: Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are the two primary
neuroimaging techniques used to study structural brain abnormalities in anxiety disorders. Clinical and
neuroscientific research utilizes structural MRI to detect volume reductions in brain areas such as the amygdala
and hippocampus, while functional neuroimaging (fMRI, PET) evaluates blood flow changes. TMS is a
non-invasive treatment modality, not an imaging method, and EKG measures cardiac electrical conduction.
Page 3
, HESI CAT EXAM PRACTICE MANUAL 2026–2027 UPDATED EXAM 100%
QUESTION 6 | DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
Question: Select the two factors that do not cause dissociative amnesia.
A. Sexual abuse and Partner betrayal
B. Substance abuse and Surgical pain
C. Sexual abuse and Surgical pain
D. Substance abuse and Partner betrayal
ANSWER ■: B — Substance abuse and Surgical pain
Explanation: Dissociative amnesia is psychologically driven, typically triggered by severe emotional trauma or
intolerable psychological conflicts (such as childhood sexual abuse, combat exposure, or acute partner betrayal). It
is defined as an inability to recall important autobiographical information that is inconsistent with ordinary
forgetting. Conversely, memory loss resulting directly from physical trauma or exogenous chemicals is classified
as a substance-induced cognitive disorder or amnesia due to a general medical condition, meaning substance
abuse and surgical pain do not cause dissociative amnesia.
QUESTION 7 | DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS IN CHILDREN
Question: Select the correct epidemiologic fact about major depression in children and
adolescents.
A. There is a 20% incidence by age 18
B. The incidence is equal in adolescent females and males
C. There is a decreased incidence after 20
D. The incidence is five- to ten-fold greater in children with a parent or sibling with major depression
ANSWER ■: D — The incidence is five- to ten-fold greater in children with a parent or sibling with major
depression
Explanation: A strong genetic and familial predisposition exists for major depressive disorder. A child who has a
first-degree relative (parent or sibling) diagnosed with major depression has a 5- to 10-fold higher risk of
developing the disorder compared to the general public. Additionally, in adolescent populations, females
demonstrate a twofold higher incidence than males, and incidence rates increase through early adulthood, rather
than decreasing after age 20.
Page 4
HESI CAT Exam Questions and Verified Answers
2023
2026–2027 Updated Exam 100% (VERIFIED ANSWERS) | A+ GRADE BRAND NEW
Subject: Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing & Clinical Psychiatry HESI CAT Board Review
Scope: 200 Highly Rigorous, Clinical Scenario Practice Questions with Detailed Evidence-Based Rationales
Clinical Standards: In alignment with DSM-5 diagnostic criteria and advanced practice nursing guidelines
QUESTION 1 | NEURODEVELOPMENTAL DISORDERS
Question: Select the neurotransmitter involved in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in
children and adolescents based on the common comorbidity of tic disorders.
A. Norepinephrine
B. GABA
C. Dopamine
D. Acetylcholine
ANSWER ■: C — Dopamine
Explanation: In pediatric populations, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is highly comorbid with tic disorders,
such as Tourette's syndrome. Both conditions share a common pathophysiological origin involving dysfunction
within the cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical (CSTC) motor circuits. Within these circuits, dopamine plays a critical
modulatory role. Second-generation antipsychotics, which are dopamine D2 receptor antagonists, are frequently
used as adjunctive therapy in patients who do not respond fully to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs),
confirming the therapeutic importance of targeting dopaminergic pathways.
Page 1
,HESI CAT EXAM PRACTICE MANUAL 2026–2027 UPDATED EXAM 100%
QUESTION 2 | SOMATOFORM AND PAIN DISORDERS
Question: Select the class of drugs most effective in treating pain disorder.
A. Opioid analgesics
B. TCA and SSRI antidepressants
C. Beta-adrenergic blockers
D. Mood stabilizers
ANSWER ■: B — TCA and SSRI antidepressants
Explanation: Tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs, such as amitriptyline) and selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors
(SSRIs, such as duloxetine) are highly effective in treating somatic symptom disorder with predominant pain.
These classes of medications enhance the activity of descending inhibitory pain pathways in the central nervous
system by increasing synaptic concentrations of serotonin and norepinephrine, independent of their primary
antidepressant effects. Opioid analgesics are avoided due to the high risk of tolerance, physical dependence, and
hyperalgesia in chronic pain syndromes.
QUESTION 3 | EATING DISORDERS
Question: Select the most commonly occurring eating disorder.
A. Anorexia nervosa
B. Bulimia nervosa
C. Purging
D. Binge
ANSWER ■: D — Binge
Explanation: Binge eating disorder (BED) is epidemiologically the most common eating disorder in the United
States, with a prevalence exceeding that of both anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa combined. It is
characterized by recurrent episodes of eating large quantities of food rapidly and to the point of discomfort,
accompanied by a subjective sense of loss of control, without the regular compensatory behaviors (such as
purging, laxative abuse, or excessive exercise) characteristic of bulimia.
Page 2
,HESI CAT EXAM PRACTICE MANUAL 2026–2027 UPDATED EXAM 100%
QUESTION 4 | FACTITIOUS AND SOMATIC DISORDERS
Question: Select the disorder in which inflicting injury to self or others is common.
A. Pain
B. Conversion
C. Somatic symptom
D. Factitious
ANSWER ■: D — Factitious
Explanation: Factitious disorder (imposed on self, or imposed on another, traditionally referred to as Munchausen
syndrome) is characterized by the deliberate fabrication, exaggeration, or physical induction of illness, injury, or
impairment. Individuals with this disorder may inject themselves with foreign substances, consume toxic
medications, or physically inflict self-injury to assume the sick role and gain medical attention. In factitious disorder
imposed on another, a caregiver inflicts injury on a dependent (typically a child) to receive secondary attention.
QUESTION 5 | DIAGNOSTIC NEUROIMAGING
Question: Select two imaging methods used to study anxiety disorders.
A. CT and TMS
B. CT and MRI
C. MRI and EKG
D. TMS and EKG
ANSWER ■: B — CT and MRI
Explanation: Computed Tomography (CT) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are the two primary
neuroimaging techniques used to study structural brain abnormalities in anxiety disorders. Clinical and
neuroscientific research utilizes structural MRI to detect volume reductions in brain areas such as the amygdala
and hippocampus, while functional neuroimaging (fMRI, PET) evaluates blood flow changes. TMS is a
non-invasive treatment modality, not an imaging method, and EKG measures cardiac electrical conduction.
Page 3
, HESI CAT EXAM PRACTICE MANUAL 2026–2027 UPDATED EXAM 100%
QUESTION 6 | DISSOCIATIVE DISORDERS
Question: Select the two factors that do not cause dissociative amnesia.
A. Sexual abuse and Partner betrayal
B. Substance abuse and Surgical pain
C. Sexual abuse and Surgical pain
D. Substance abuse and Partner betrayal
ANSWER ■: B — Substance abuse and Surgical pain
Explanation: Dissociative amnesia is psychologically driven, typically triggered by severe emotional trauma or
intolerable psychological conflicts (such as childhood sexual abuse, combat exposure, or acute partner betrayal). It
is defined as an inability to recall important autobiographical information that is inconsistent with ordinary
forgetting. Conversely, memory loss resulting directly from physical trauma or exogenous chemicals is classified
as a substance-induced cognitive disorder or amnesia due to a general medical condition, meaning substance
abuse and surgical pain do not cause dissociative amnesia.
QUESTION 7 | DEPRESSIVE DISORDERS IN CHILDREN
Question: Select the correct epidemiologic fact about major depression in children and
adolescents.
A. There is a 20% incidence by age 18
B. The incidence is equal in adolescent females and males
C. There is a decreased incidence after 20
D. The incidence is five- to ten-fold greater in children with a parent or sibling with major depression
ANSWER ■: D — The incidence is five- to ten-fold greater in children with a parent or sibling with major
depression
Explanation: A strong genetic and familial predisposition exists for major depressive disorder. A child who has a
first-degree relative (parent or sibling) diagnosed with major depression has a 5- to 10-fold higher risk of
developing the disorder compared to the general public. Additionally, in adolescent populations, females
demonstrate a twofold higher incidence than males, and incidence rates increase through early adulthood, rather
than decreasing after age 20.
Page 4
