HESI RN MENTAL HEALTH EXAM PREP
QUESTIONS & KNOWLEDGE REVIEW;
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED
ANSWERS (ALREADY GRADED A+); LATEST
EDITION 2025
A married male client with three children has lost his job and states that he feels
useless. He is tearful, upset, and embarrassed. What is an appropriate objective of care
for this client?
1. Limiting tearfulness
2. Increasing self-esteem
3. Controlling feelings of sadness
4. Promoting acceptance by others - ANS-2. Increasing self-esteem
The loss of a job can precipitate negative feelings about the self and decrease self-
esteem. Feelings should be expressed, not limited; attempting to decrease a client's
crying often ends up worsening it. Crying is not necessarily an expression of sadness;
other feelings are involved. The focus should be on the client's self-acceptance, not
acceptance by others.
A 44-year-old client has been unable to function since her husband asked for a divorce
2 weeks ago. She is brought to the crisis intervention center by a friend. What type of
crisis is this situation?
1. Social
2. Situational
3. Maturational
4. Developmental - ANS-2. Situational
Situational crises involve an unanticipated loss, such as a divorce, that is threatening to
the client. Social crises involve multiple losses such as those occurring during major
disasters. Maturational crises occur in response to stress experienced as one struggles
with developmental tasks. Developmental (maturational) crises are associated with
developmental tasks; divorce is not a developmental task.
,A resident in a nursing home recently immigrated to the United States from Italy. How
does the nurse plan to provide emotional support?
1. By offering choices consistent with the client's heritage
2. By ensuring that the client understands American beliefs
3. By assisting the client in adjusting to the American culture
4. By correcting the client's misconceptions about appropriate health practices - ANS-1.
By offering choices consistent with the client's heritage
Adherence to a plan of care is enhanced by the nurse's providing choices consistent
with the client's cultural beliefs and practices. The nurse's cultural or personal beliefs
and biases should not influence or interfere with the implementation of appropriate care.
Helping the client adjust to the American culture is not the priority at this time; care
should be adapted to the client's needs and culture. The person's cultural practices
should not be addressed unless they are detrimental to the person's health.
A nurse should reassess an older adult client's needs and current plan of care when the
client's behavior indicates the development of what symptom?
1. Confusion
2. Hypochondriasis
3. Additional complaints
4. Increased socialization - ANS-1. Confusion
The development of confusion indicates that the client's ability to maintain equilibrium
has not been achieved and that further disequilibrium is occurring. Hypochondriasis and
additional complaints do not indicate that the plan needs to be changed unless the
client's history demonstrates no prior use of these defenses. Increased socialization is a
positive response to the plan of care that does not require reassessment.
An injured child is brought to the emergency department by the parents. While
interviewing the parents, the nurse begins to suspect child abuse. Which parental
behaviors might support this conclusion? Select all that apply.
1. Demonstrating concern for the injured child
2. Focusing on the child's role in sustaining the injury
3. Changing the story of how the child sustained the injury
4. Asking questions about the injury and the child's prognosis
5. Giving an explanation of how the injury occurred that is not consistent with the injury -
ANS-2. Focusing on the child's role in sustaining the injury
3. Changing the story of how the child sustained the injury
5. Giving an explanation of how the injury occurred that is not consistent with the injury
The child is often made the scapegoat in the situation; the parents blame the child
because they have unrealistic expectations of the child. Discrepancies or
inconsistencies in the history result from attempts to present a story that is not based in
,fact. Discrepancies between the parental explanation for the child's injuries and the
physical findings or discrepancies in the history that each parent gives are common
because the information that is being provided is not based in fact. Abusive parents
usually do not ask questions about the injury or prognosis and demonstrate little or no
interest in their child's well-being.
A nurse is planning to teach a client about self-care. What level of anxiety will best
enhance the client's learning abilities?
1. Mild
2. Panic
3. Severe
4. Moderate - ANS-1. Mild
Mild anxiety motivates one to action, such as learning or making changes. Higher levels
of anxiety tend to blur the individual's perceptions and interfere with functioning.
Attention is severely reduced by panic. The perceptual field is greatly reduced with
severe anxiety and narrowed with moderate anxiety.
A nurse is caring for depressed older adults. What precipitating factors for depression
are most common in the older adult without cognitive problems? Select all that apply.
1. Dementia
2. Multiple losses
3. Declines in health
4. A milestone birthday
5. An injury requiring hospitalization - ANS-2. Multiple losses
3. Declines in health
Depression in the older adult is most often associated with the loss of family members
and friends (e.g., death, relocation) and declines in mobility, health, and income. A
decline in health, particularly when associated with a chronic illness, frequently
precipitates depression in older adults. Dementia is a cognitive problem. Research does
not correlate the onset of depression with a milestone birthday in older adults. A
traumatic injury does not precipitate the onset of depression in the older adult as often
as does a chronic illness.
The nurse observes biting, rocking, sucking, and lags in intellectual development in a
child. She also concludes the child is suffering from sleep disorders. What could be the
reason for the child's condition?
1. Physical neglect
2. Sexual abuse
3. Physical abuse
4. Emotional abuse - ANS-4. Emotional abuse
, The child may be neglected if the parent is having a mental illness such as psychosis.
Sleep disorders, feeding disorders, biting, rocking, sucking, and lags in intellectual
development are behavioral findings associated with emotional abuse. Physical neglect,
sexual abuse, and physical abuse manifest in different sets of signs and symptoms.
Which emotional condition may be apparent in a client with an addiction?
1. Insomnia
2. Social isolation
3. Acute confusion
4. Functional urinary incontinence - ANS-2. Social isolation
Social isolation is an emotional condition that may be apparent in a client with an
addiction. Insomnia, acute confusion, and functional urinary incontinence are physical,
not emotional, conditions that may be apparent in clients with addiction.
A client who has been battling cancer of the ovary for 7 years is admitted to the hospital
in a debilitated state. The healthcare provider tells the client that she is too frail for
surgery or further chemotherapy. When making rounds during the night, the nurse
enters the client's room and finds her crying. Which is the most appropriate intervention
by the nurse?
1. Sit down quietly next to the bed and allow her to cry.
2. Pull the curtain and leave the room to provide privacy for the client.
3. Explain to the client that her feelings are expected and they will pass with time.
4. Observe the length of time the client cries and document her difficulty accepting her
impending death. - ANS-1. Sit down quietly next to the bed and allow her to cry.
Sitting down quietly next to the bed and allowing her to cry demonstrates acceptance of
the client's behavior and provides an opportunity for the client to verbally express
feelings if desired. Pulling the curtain and leaving the room to provide privacy for the
client may make the client feel that the behavior is wrong or is annoying others. Also, it
abandons the client when support is needed. Explaining to the client that her feelings
are expected and they will pass with time closes off communication and does not
provide an opportunity for the client to talk about feelings. Also, it provides false
reassurance. The length of time she cries is unimportant at this time. Assuming that she
is having difficulty accepting her impending death is a conclusion without enough
information.
Which of these are symptoms of depression commonly observed in older adults? Select
all that apply.
1. Fatigue
2. Sadness
3. Agitation
4. Increased sleep
QUESTIONS & KNOWLEDGE REVIEW;
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT DETAILED
ANSWERS (ALREADY GRADED A+); LATEST
EDITION 2025
A married male client with three children has lost his job and states that he feels
useless. He is tearful, upset, and embarrassed. What is an appropriate objective of care
for this client?
1. Limiting tearfulness
2. Increasing self-esteem
3. Controlling feelings of sadness
4. Promoting acceptance by others - ANS-2. Increasing self-esteem
The loss of a job can precipitate negative feelings about the self and decrease self-
esteem. Feelings should be expressed, not limited; attempting to decrease a client's
crying often ends up worsening it. Crying is not necessarily an expression of sadness;
other feelings are involved. The focus should be on the client's self-acceptance, not
acceptance by others.
A 44-year-old client has been unable to function since her husband asked for a divorce
2 weeks ago. She is brought to the crisis intervention center by a friend. What type of
crisis is this situation?
1. Social
2. Situational
3. Maturational
4. Developmental - ANS-2. Situational
Situational crises involve an unanticipated loss, such as a divorce, that is threatening to
the client. Social crises involve multiple losses such as those occurring during major
disasters. Maturational crises occur in response to stress experienced as one struggles
with developmental tasks. Developmental (maturational) crises are associated with
developmental tasks; divorce is not a developmental task.
,A resident in a nursing home recently immigrated to the United States from Italy. How
does the nurse plan to provide emotional support?
1. By offering choices consistent with the client's heritage
2. By ensuring that the client understands American beliefs
3. By assisting the client in adjusting to the American culture
4. By correcting the client's misconceptions about appropriate health practices - ANS-1.
By offering choices consistent with the client's heritage
Adherence to a plan of care is enhanced by the nurse's providing choices consistent
with the client's cultural beliefs and practices. The nurse's cultural or personal beliefs
and biases should not influence or interfere with the implementation of appropriate care.
Helping the client adjust to the American culture is not the priority at this time; care
should be adapted to the client's needs and culture. The person's cultural practices
should not be addressed unless they are detrimental to the person's health.
A nurse should reassess an older adult client's needs and current plan of care when the
client's behavior indicates the development of what symptom?
1. Confusion
2. Hypochondriasis
3. Additional complaints
4. Increased socialization - ANS-1. Confusion
The development of confusion indicates that the client's ability to maintain equilibrium
has not been achieved and that further disequilibrium is occurring. Hypochondriasis and
additional complaints do not indicate that the plan needs to be changed unless the
client's history demonstrates no prior use of these defenses. Increased socialization is a
positive response to the plan of care that does not require reassessment.
An injured child is brought to the emergency department by the parents. While
interviewing the parents, the nurse begins to suspect child abuse. Which parental
behaviors might support this conclusion? Select all that apply.
1. Demonstrating concern for the injured child
2. Focusing on the child's role in sustaining the injury
3. Changing the story of how the child sustained the injury
4. Asking questions about the injury and the child's prognosis
5. Giving an explanation of how the injury occurred that is not consistent with the injury -
ANS-2. Focusing on the child's role in sustaining the injury
3. Changing the story of how the child sustained the injury
5. Giving an explanation of how the injury occurred that is not consistent with the injury
The child is often made the scapegoat in the situation; the parents blame the child
because they have unrealistic expectations of the child. Discrepancies or
inconsistencies in the history result from attempts to present a story that is not based in
,fact. Discrepancies between the parental explanation for the child's injuries and the
physical findings or discrepancies in the history that each parent gives are common
because the information that is being provided is not based in fact. Abusive parents
usually do not ask questions about the injury or prognosis and demonstrate little or no
interest in their child's well-being.
A nurse is planning to teach a client about self-care. What level of anxiety will best
enhance the client's learning abilities?
1. Mild
2. Panic
3. Severe
4. Moderate - ANS-1. Mild
Mild anxiety motivates one to action, such as learning or making changes. Higher levels
of anxiety tend to blur the individual's perceptions and interfere with functioning.
Attention is severely reduced by panic. The perceptual field is greatly reduced with
severe anxiety and narrowed with moderate anxiety.
A nurse is caring for depressed older adults. What precipitating factors for depression
are most common in the older adult without cognitive problems? Select all that apply.
1. Dementia
2. Multiple losses
3. Declines in health
4. A milestone birthday
5. An injury requiring hospitalization - ANS-2. Multiple losses
3. Declines in health
Depression in the older adult is most often associated with the loss of family members
and friends (e.g., death, relocation) and declines in mobility, health, and income. A
decline in health, particularly when associated with a chronic illness, frequently
precipitates depression in older adults. Dementia is a cognitive problem. Research does
not correlate the onset of depression with a milestone birthday in older adults. A
traumatic injury does not precipitate the onset of depression in the older adult as often
as does a chronic illness.
The nurse observes biting, rocking, sucking, and lags in intellectual development in a
child. She also concludes the child is suffering from sleep disorders. What could be the
reason for the child's condition?
1. Physical neglect
2. Sexual abuse
3. Physical abuse
4. Emotional abuse - ANS-4. Emotional abuse
, The child may be neglected if the parent is having a mental illness such as psychosis.
Sleep disorders, feeding disorders, biting, rocking, sucking, and lags in intellectual
development are behavioral findings associated with emotional abuse. Physical neglect,
sexual abuse, and physical abuse manifest in different sets of signs and symptoms.
Which emotional condition may be apparent in a client with an addiction?
1. Insomnia
2. Social isolation
3. Acute confusion
4. Functional urinary incontinence - ANS-2. Social isolation
Social isolation is an emotional condition that may be apparent in a client with an
addiction. Insomnia, acute confusion, and functional urinary incontinence are physical,
not emotional, conditions that may be apparent in clients with addiction.
A client who has been battling cancer of the ovary for 7 years is admitted to the hospital
in a debilitated state. The healthcare provider tells the client that she is too frail for
surgery or further chemotherapy. When making rounds during the night, the nurse
enters the client's room and finds her crying. Which is the most appropriate intervention
by the nurse?
1. Sit down quietly next to the bed and allow her to cry.
2. Pull the curtain and leave the room to provide privacy for the client.
3. Explain to the client that her feelings are expected and they will pass with time.
4. Observe the length of time the client cries and document her difficulty accepting her
impending death. - ANS-1. Sit down quietly next to the bed and allow her to cry.
Sitting down quietly next to the bed and allowing her to cry demonstrates acceptance of
the client's behavior and provides an opportunity for the client to verbally express
feelings if desired. Pulling the curtain and leaving the room to provide privacy for the
client may make the client feel that the behavior is wrong or is annoying others. Also, it
abandons the client when support is needed. Explaining to the client that her feelings
are expected and they will pass with time closes off communication and does not
provide an opportunity for the client to talk about feelings. Also, it provides false
reassurance. The length of time she cries is unimportant at this time. Assuming that she
is having difficulty accepting her impending death is a conclusion without enough
information.
Which of these are symptoms of depression commonly observed in older adults? Select
all that apply.
1. Fatigue
2. Sadness
3. Agitation
4. Increased sleep
