MENTAL HEALTH NCLEX - FOCUS ON
SCHIZOPHRENIA EXAM 1
QUESTIONSAWITH CORRECT ANSWERS
The nurse is developing a plan of care for the client with a diagnosis of paranoia and
should include which interventions in the plan of care? Select all that apply.
A. Provide a warm approach to the client.
B. Ask permission before touching the client.
C. Eliminate physical contact with the client.
D. Defuse any anger or verbal attacks with a nondefensive stance.
E. Use simple and clear language when communicating with the client. - ANSWER-B.
Ask permission before touching the client.
C. Eliminate physical contact with the client.
D. Defuse any anger or verbal attacks with a nondefensive stance.
E. Use simple and clear language when communicating with the client.
Rationale:
When caring for a client with paranoia, the nurse should ask permission if touch is
necessary because touch may be interpreted as a sexual or physical assault. The nurse
must eliminate any physical contact and not touch the client. The anger that a paranoid
client expresses often is displaced, and when a staff member becomes defensive, both
client and staff anger may escalate. Simple and clear language should be used in
speaking to the client to prevent misinterpretation and to clarify the nurse's intent and
action. The nurse should avoid a warm approach because warmth can be frightening to a
person who needs emotional distance.
Schizophrenia is best characterized as
A. split personality.
B. multiple personalities.
C. ambivalent personality.
D. deteriorating personality. - ANSWER-D. deteriorating personality.
The course of the disease is marked by recurrent acute exacerbations. With each
relapse of psychosis, an increase in residual dysfunction and deterioration occurs.
A descriptor for a subtype of schizophrenia is
A. delusional.
B. dissociated.
C. disorganized.
D. developmental - ANSWER-C. disorganized.
Disorganized schizophrenia is a subtype of schizophrenia listed in the DSM-IV-TR and
refers to the most regressed and socially impaired of all the schizophrenic disorders
Which of the following would be assessed as a negative symptom of schizophrenia?
A. Anhedonia
B. Hostility
C. Agitation
D. Hallucinations - ANSWER-A. Anhedonia
, Negative symptoms include the crippling symptoms of affective blunting, anergia,
anhedonia avolition, poverty of content of speech, poverty of speech, and thought
blocking.
The type of altered perception most commonly experienced by clients with schizophrenia
is
A. delusions.
B. illusions.
C. tactile hallucinations.
D. auditory hallucinations. - ANSWER-D. auditory hallucinations.
Hallucinations, especially auditory hallucinations, are the major example of alterations of
perception in schizophrenia. They are experienced by as many as 90% of schizophrenic
individuals.
What is the most common course of schizophrenia? Initial episode followed by
A. recurrent acute exacerbations and deterioration.
B. recurrent acute exacerbations.
C. continuous deterioration.
D. complete recovery. - ANSWER-A. recurrent acute exacerbations and deterioration.
Schizophrenia is usually a disorder marked by an initial episode followed by recurrent
acute exacerbations. With each relapse of psychosis an increase in residual dysfunction
and deterioration occurs.
The causation of schizophrenia is currently understood to be
A. a combination of inherited and nongenetic factors.
B. excessive amounts of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
C. excessive amounts of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
D. stress related. - ANSWER-A. a combination of inherited and nongenetic factors.
Causation is a complicated matter. Schizophrenia most likely occurs as a result of a
combination of inherited genetic factors and extreme nongenetic factors (such as virus,
birth injuries, nutritional factors) that can affect the genes governing the brain or directly
injure the brain
Which symptom would not be assessed as a positive symptom of schizophrenia?
A. Delusion of persecution
B. Auditory hallucinations
C. Affective flattening
D. Idea of reference - ANSWER-C. Affective flattening
Positive symptoms are the attention-getting symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions,
bizarre behavior, and paranoia. They are referred to as florid symptoms. Affective
flattening is one of the negative symptoms that contribute to rendering the person inert
and unmotivated.
A withdrawn client is assessed as having distorted thinking that is not reality based. A
nursing diagnosis that should be considered for her would be
A. impaired verbal communication.
B. disturbed thought processes.
C. disturbed self-esteem.
D. defensive coping - ANSWER-B. disturbed thought processes.
SCHIZOPHRENIA EXAM 1
QUESTIONSAWITH CORRECT ANSWERS
The nurse is developing a plan of care for the client with a diagnosis of paranoia and
should include which interventions in the plan of care? Select all that apply.
A. Provide a warm approach to the client.
B. Ask permission before touching the client.
C. Eliminate physical contact with the client.
D. Defuse any anger or verbal attacks with a nondefensive stance.
E. Use simple and clear language when communicating with the client. - ANSWER-B.
Ask permission before touching the client.
C. Eliminate physical contact with the client.
D. Defuse any anger or verbal attacks with a nondefensive stance.
E. Use simple and clear language when communicating with the client.
Rationale:
When caring for a client with paranoia, the nurse should ask permission if touch is
necessary because touch may be interpreted as a sexual or physical assault. The nurse
must eliminate any physical contact and not touch the client. The anger that a paranoid
client expresses often is displaced, and when a staff member becomes defensive, both
client and staff anger may escalate. Simple and clear language should be used in
speaking to the client to prevent misinterpretation and to clarify the nurse's intent and
action. The nurse should avoid a warm approach because warmth can be frightening to a
person who needs emotional distance.
Schizophrenia is best characterized as
A. split personality.
B. multiple personalities.
C. ambivalent personality.
D. deteriorating personality. - ANSWER-D. deteriorating personality.
The course of the disease is marked by recurrent acute exacerbations. With each
relapse of psychosis, an increase in residual dysfunction and deterioration occurs.
A descriptor for a subtype of schizophrenia is
A. delusional.
B. dissociated.
C. disorganized.
D. developmental - ANSWER-C. disorganized.
Disorganized schizophrenia is a subtype of schizophrenia listed in the DSM-IV-TR and
refers to the most regressed and socially impaired of all the schizophrenic disorders
Which of the following would be assessed as a negative symptom of schizophrenia?
A. Anhedonia
B. Hostility
C. Agitation
D. Hallucinations - ANSWER-A. Anhedonia
, Negative symptoms include the crippling symptoms of affective blunting, anergia,
anhedonia avolition, poverty of content of speech, poverty of speech, and thought
blocking.
The type of altered perception most commonly experienced by clients with schizophrenia
is
A. delusions.
B. illusions.
C. tactile hallucinations.
D. auditory hallucinations. - ANSWER-D. auditory hallucinations.
Hallucinations, especially auditory hallucinations, are the major example of alterations of
perception in schizophrenia. They are experienced by as many as 90% of schizophrenic
individuals.
What is the most common course of schizophrenia? Initial episode followed by
A. recurrent acute exacerbations and deterioration.
B. recurrent acute exacerbations.
C. continuous deterioration.
D. complete recovery. - ANSWER-A. recurrent acute exacerbations and deterioration.
Schizophrenia is usually a disorder marked by an initial episode followed by recurrent
acute exacerbations. With each relapse of psychosis an increase in residual dysfunction
and deterioration occurs.
The causation of schizophrenia is currently understood to be
A. a combination of inherited and nongenetic factors.
B. excessive amounts of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
C. excessive amounts of the neurotransmitter serotonin.
D. stress related. - ANSWER-A. a combination of inherited and nongenetic factors.
Causation is a complicated matter. Schizophrenia most likely occurs as a result of a
combination of inherited genetic factors and extreme nongenetic factors (such as virus,
birth injuries, nutritional factors) that can affect the genes governing the brain or directly
injure the brain
Which symptom would not be assessed as a positive symptom of schizophrenia?
A. Delusion of persecution
B. Auditory hallucinations
C. Affective flattening
D. Idea of reference - ANSWER-C. Affective flattening
Positive symptoms are the attention-getting symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions,
bizarre behavior, and paranoia. They are referred to as florid symptoms. Affective
flattening is one of the negative symptoms that contribute to rendering the person inert
and unmotivated.
A withdrawn client is assessed as having distorted thinking that is not reality based. A
nursing diagnosis that should be considered for her would be
A. impaired verbal communication.
B. disturbed thought processes.
C. disturbed self-esteem.
D. defensive coping - ANSWER-B. disturbed thought processes.
