ESTUDYR
NU160 MENTAL HEALTH EXAM 2 2025
MULTICHOICE ANSWERED EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
Which of the following is NOT a type of anxiety commonly described in nursing?
A. Signal anxiety
B. Anxiety state
C. Anxiety trait
D. (All are types)
Rationale: Trick Q — all three (signal anxiety, anxiety state, anxiety trait) are recognized types;
therefore C is wrong as phrased. (Note: If used as “which is not”, choose none—be careful on
exam wording.)
Signal anxiety is best described as:
A. A lifelong personality disorder
B. A learned response to an anticipated event
C. Sudden loss of emotional control unrelated to events
D. Chronic temperament trait
Rationale: Signal anxiety is anticipatory and learned (e.g., fear before an exam).
An anxiety state occurs when:
A. Anxiety is absent and calmness prevails
B. Coping abilities are overwhelmed and emotional control is lost
C. A person feels mildly uneasy but functions normally
D. Anxiety is purely trait-based and always present
Rationale: Anxiety state is acute and disrupts functioning when coping fails.
Anxiety trait refers to:
A. Temporary anxiety before tests
B. Immediate panic reactions only
C. A learned component of personality causing anxiety in low-stress situations
D. A medication side effect
Rationale: Trait anxiety is a stable tendency to respond with anxiety across situations.
Anxiety is best defined as:
A. A physical illness only
B. A delusional belief system
,ESTUDYR
C. A feeling of uneasiness, uncertainty, and helplessness
D. Only panic attacks
Rationale: Anxiety encompasses cognitive, emotional, and physical sensations of apprehension.
Which is the correct ordering of anxiety levels from mildest to most severe?
A. Panic, Severe, Moderate, Mild
B. Mild, Severe, Moderate, Panic
C. Mild, Moderate, Severe, Panic
D. Moderate, Mild, Panic, Severe
Rationale: Standard taxonomy: mild → moderate → severe → panic.
Mild anxiety typically presents with:
A. Total loss of control and pale skin
B. Inability to hear anything
C. Minimal muscle tension, controlled thoughts, relative comfort
D. Extreme dissociation
Rationale: Mild anxiety may sharpen perception and is manageable.
Moderate anxiety is characterized by:
A. Complete cognitive collapse
B. Tension, alertness, and an optimal state for problem solving
C. Pale appearance and helplessness
D. Total loss of reality testing
Rationale: Moderate anxiety mobilizes energy and attention for coping.
Severe anxiety often includes:
A. Enhanced problem solving and calmness
B. Fight-or-flight responses, distorted time perception, impaired problem solving
C. Only mild restlessness
D. Improved concentration on details
Rationale: Severe anxiety narrows perception and reduces reasoning ability.
Panic anxiety commonly shows:
A. Calm, purposeful behavior
B. Normal blood pressure and full hearing
C. Pale appearance, decreased BP, minimal hearing, dissociation, helplessness
D. Mild tension only
Rationale: Panic involves overwhelming terror and physiological collapse in some cases.
Projection as a defense mechanism means:
A. Taking responsibility for one’s feelings
,ESTUDYR
B. Attributing one’s unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else
C. Rationally explaining behavior to others
D. Consciously forgetting an event
Rationale: Projection externalizes internal impulses onto others.
Rationalization involves:
A. Openly admitting true motives
B. Creating a seemingly “good” (but false) reason to justify unacceptable behavior
C. Physically converting anxiety to pain
D. Reverting to childlike behaviors
Rationale: Rationalization preserves self-esteem by reframing motives.
Denial is:
A. Intentionally lying to others for gain
B. Refusing to acknowledge reality to escape anxiety
C. Converting emotional pain into physical symptoms
D. Using logic to cope unemotionally
Rationale: Denial blocks awareness of distressing facts.
Conversion is exemplified by:
A. Verbally admitting feelings of guilt
B. Developing a physical symptom (e.g., limp) with no organic cause after emotional trauma
C. Overintellectualizing emotional topics
D. Giving gifts to assuage guilt
Rationale: Conversion expresses emotional conflict as somatic symptoms unconsciously.
Intellectualization means:
A. Acting childlike under stress
B. Focusing on technical/logical details to avoid emotional content
C. Projecting feelings onto others
D. Physically acting out emotions
Rationale: Intellectualization distances affect by emphasizing abstract thinking.
Displacement is:
A. Transforming emotions into socially acceptable actions
B. Redirecting feelings from the true target to a safer substitute
C. Making restitution for wrongdoing
D. Denying the existence of feelings
Rationale: Displacement redirects affect (e.g., anger at boss → yell at family).
, ESTUDYR
Restitution (or making amends) is:
A. Acting aggressively to resolve guilt
B. Giving back or correcting a wrong to relieve guilt
C. Reverting to earlier behaviors
D. Imagining outcomes instead of acting
Rationale: Restitution helps resolve guilt by reparative acts.
Regression refers to:
A. Moving forward with new skills
B. Reverting to earlier developmental behaviors under stress
C. Projecting feelings onto others
D. Using logic to suppress emotion
Rationale: Regression returns the individual to a safer stage of functioning.
Dissociation is:
A. A fully integrated emotional response
B. Separating emotions from memories or experiences to avoid distress
C. A conscious rehearsal strategy
D. Only a legal procedure
Rationale: Dissociation can protect the mind from overwhelming affect (e.g., detachment in
trauma).
Isolation (affect isolation) is:
A. Social isolation only
B. Separating affect from content so one can discuss facts unemotionally
C. Projection onto others
D. A form of conversion disorder
Rationale: Isolation allows detached discussion of traumatic events.
Reaction formation occurs when a person:
A. Expresses their true unacceptable impulses openly
B. Behaves in a way opposite to their unacceptable impulses
C. Intellectually analyzes feelings intensely
D. Physically acts out emotions
Rationale: Reaction formation masks unacceptable wishes by exaggerated opposite behavior.
Sublimation is:
A. Acting out destructively without control
B. Channeling unacceptable impulses into constructive, socially approved activities
C. Suppressing all emotions permanently
NU160 MENTAL HEALTH EXAM 2 2025
MULTICHOICE ANSWERED EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH DETAILED RATIONALES
Which of the following is NOT a type of anxiety commonly described in nursing?
A. Signal anxiety
B. Anxiety state
C. Anxiety trait
D. (All are types)
Rationale: Trick Q — all three (signal anxiety, anxiety state, anxiety trait) are recognized types;
therefore C is wrong as phrased. (Note: If used as “which is not”, choose none—be careful on
exam wording.)
Signal anxiety is best described as:
A. A lifelong personality disorder
B. A learned response to an anticipated event
C. Sudden loss of emotional control unrelated to events
D. Chronic temperament trait
Rationale: Signal anxiety is anticipatory and learned (e.g., fear before an exam).
An anxiety state occurs when:
A. Anxiety is absent and calmness prevails
B. Coping abilities are overwhelmed and emotional control is lost
C. A person feels mildly uneasy but functions normally
D. Anxiety is purely trait-based and always present
Rationale: Anxiety state is acute and disrupts functioning when coping fails.
Anxiety trait refers to:
A. Temporary anxiety before tests
B. Immediate panic reactions only
C. A learned component of personality causing anxiety in low-stress situations
D. A medication side effect
Rationale: Trait anxiety is a stable tendency to respond with anxiety across situations.
Anxiety is best defined as:
A. A physical illness only
B. A delusional belief system
,ESTUDYR
C. A feeling of uneasiness, uncertainty, and helplessness
D. Only panic attacks
Rationale: Anxiety encompasses cognitive, emotional, and physical sensations of apprehension.
Which is the correct ordering of anxiety levels from mildest to most severe?
A. Panic, Severe, Moderate, Mild
B. Mild, Severe, Moderate, Panic
C. Mild, Moderate, Severe, Panic
D. Moderate, Mild, Panic, Severe
Rationale: Standard taxonomy: mild → moderate → severe → panic.
Mild anxiety typically presents with:
A. Total loss of control and pale skin
B. Inability to hear anything
C. Minimal muscle tension, controlled thoughts, relative comfort
D. Extreme dissociation
Rationale: Mild anxiety may sharpen perception and is manageable.
Moderate anxiety is characterized by:
A. Complete cognitive collapse
B. Tension, alertness, and an optimal state for problem solving
C. Pale appearance and helplessness
D. Total loss of reality testing
Rationale: Moderate anxiety mobilizes energy and attention for coping.
Severe anxiety often includes:
A. Enhanced problem solving and calmness
B. Fight-or-flight responses, distorted time perception, impaired problem solving
C. Only mild restlessness
D. Improved concentration on details
Rationale: Severe anxiety narrows perception and reduces reasoning ability.
Panic anxiety commonly shows:
A. Calm, purposeful behavior
B. Normal blood pressure and full hearing
C. Pale appearance, decreased BP, minimal hearing, dissociation, helplessness
D. Mild tension only
Rationale: Panic involves overwhelming terror and physiological collapse in some cases.
Projection as a defense mechanism means:
A. Taking responsibility for one’s feelings
,ESTUDYR
B. Attributing one’s unacceptable thoughts or feelings to someone else
C. Rationally explaining behavior to others
D. Consciously forgetting an event
Rationale: Projection externalizes internal impulses onto others.
Rationalization involves:
A. Openly admitting true motives
B. Creating a seemingly “good” (but false) reason to justify unacceptable behavior
C. Physically converting anxiety to pain
D. Reverting to childlike behaviors
Rationale: Rationalization preserves self-esteem by reframing motives.
Denial is:
A. Intentionally lying to others for gain
B. Refusing to acknowledge reality to escape anxiety
C. Converting emotional pain into physical symptoms
D. Using logic to cope unemotionally
Rationale: Denial blocks awareness of distressing facts.
Conversion is exemplified by:
A. Verbally admitting feelings of guilt
B. Developing a physical symptom (e.g., limp) with no organic cause after emotional trauma
C. Overintellectualizing emotional topics
D. Giving gifts to assuage guilt
Rationale: Conversion expresses emotional conflict as somatic symptoms unconsciously.
Intellectualization means:
A. Acting childlike under stress
B. Focusing on technical/logical details to avoid emotional content
C. Projecting feelings onto others
D. Physically acting out emotions
Rationale: Intellectualization distances affect by emphasizing abstract thinking.
Displacement is:
A. Transforming emotions into socially acceptable actions
B. Redirecting feelings from the true target to a safer substitute
C. Making restitution for wrongdoing
D. Denying the existence of feelings
Rationale: Displacement redirects affect (e.g., anger at boss → yell at family).
, ESTUDYR
Restitution (or making amends) is:
A. Acting aggressively to resolve guilt
B. Giving back or correcting a wrong to relieve guilt
C. Reverting to earlier behaviors
D. Imagining outcomes instead of acting
Rationale: Restitution helps resolve guilt by reparative acts.
Regression refers to:
A. Moving forward with new skills
B. Reverting to earlier developmental behaviors under stress
C. Projecting feelings onto others
D. Using logic to suppress emotion
Rationale: Regression returns the individual to a safer stage of functioning.
Dissociation is:
A. A fully integrated emotional response
B. Separating emotions from memories or experiences to avoid distress
C. A conscious rehearsal strategy
D. Only a legal procedure
Rationale: Dissociation can protect the mind from overwhelming affect (e.g., detachment in
trauma).
Isolation (affect isolation) is:
A. Social isolation only
B. Separating affect from content so one can discuss facts unemotionally
C. Projection onto others
D. A form of conversion disorder
Rationale: Isolation allows detached discussion of traumatic events.
Reaction formation occurs when a person:
A. Expresses their true unacceptable impulses openly
B. Behaves in a way opposite to their unacceptable impulses
C. Intellectually analyzes feelings intensely
D. Physically acts out emotions
Rationale: Reaction formation masks unacceptable wishes by exaggerated opposite behavior.
Sublimation is:
A. Acting out destructively without control
B. Channeling unacceptable impulses into constructive, socially approved activities
C. Suppressing all emotions permanently
