NUR 232 PEDS FINAL EXAM REVIEW 2026
ACTUAL TEST PAPER COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
VERIFIED
◉ A nurse explains the mental health continuum. Which statement
indicates understanding? Answer: Mental health can change over time
based on life events and stressors (mental health is dynamic, not fixed)
◉ Which factors most strongly influence a person's mental health?
Answer: Genetics, childhood nurturing, and life circumstances (these
shape coping skills and vulnerability across the lifespan)
◉ A nurse explains defense mechanisms. What is their primary purpose?
Answer: To maintain psychological homeostasis (defense mechanisms
protect the ego and reduce anxiety)
◉ Which concept best explains homeostasis in mental health? Answer:
The mind's attempt to maintain emotional balance (similar to how the
body regulates temperature or blood pressure)
◉ A nurse reviews early beliefs about mental illness. Which belief was
common in primitive societies? Answer: Mental illness was caused by
evil spirits (early cultures lacked scientific explanations for disease)
,◉ Which early intervention involved drilling holes in the skull to release
spirits? Answer: Trepanation (this was believed to allow evil spirits to
escape)
◉ Which theory proposed that illness resulted from imbalance of bodily
fluids? Answer: Humoral theory (health was thought to depend on
balance of humors)
◉ What was the primary purpose of early asylums? Answer: To confine
individuals with mental illness without treatment (care was custodial,
not therapeutic)
◉ A nurse studies early psychiatric institutions. Which asylum
represents inhumane care? Answer: Bedlam (patients were abused,
chained, and publicly displayed)
◉ Which asylum represents the beginning of humane treatment?
Answer: Bicêtre (this is where reform began under Philippe Pinel)
◉ Which reformer removed chains from patients? Answer: Philippe
Pinel (he promoted dignity and moral treatment)
◉ Who is considered the father of American psychiatry? Answer:
Benjamin Rush (he advanced humane psychiatric care in the U.S.)
, ◉ Which reformer exposed poor conditions in asylums and prisons?
Answer: Dorothea Dix (she advocated for mental health reform)
◉ Which treatment was common in the 17th century? Answer: Bleeding
and starvation (treatments were based on punishment rather than
science)
◉ In which century did psychiatry become a medical specialty? Answer:
18th century (mental illness began to be medically studied)
◉ Which act funded construction of psychiatric hospitals? Answer: Hill-
Burton Act (federal funding expanded institutional care)
◉ Which medication revolutionized mental health treatment? Answer:
Thorazine (first antipsychotic that allowed symptom control)
◉ Which term was previously used for PTSD? Answer: Shell shock
(used to describe combat-related trauma)
◉ Which movement shifted care into the community? Answer:
Deinstitutionalization (patients moved from institutions to outpatient
care)
ACTUAL TEST PAPER COMPLETE SOLUTIONS
VERIFIED
◉ A nurse explains the mental health continuum. Which statement
indicates understanding? Answer: Mental health can change over time
based on life events and stressors (mental health is dynamic, not fixed)
◉ Which factors most strongly influence a person's mental health?
Answer: Genetics, childhood nurturing, and life circumstances (these
shape coping skills and vulnerability across the lifespan)
◉ A nurse explains defense mechanisms. What is their primary purpose?
Answer: To maintain psychological homeostasis (defense mechanisms
protect the ego and reduce anxiety)
◉ Which concept best explains homeostasis in mental health? Answer:
The mind's attempt to maintain emotional balance (similar to how the
body regulates temperature or blood pressure)
◉ A nurse reviews early beliefs about mental illness. Which belief was
common in primitive societies? Answer: Mental illness was caused by
evil spirits (early cultures lacked scientific explanations for disease)
,◉ Which early intervention involved drilling holes in the skull to release
spirits? Answer: Trepanation (this was believed to allow evil spirits to
escape)
◉ Which theory proposed that illness resulted from imbalance of bodily
fluids? Answer: Humoral theory (health was thought to depend on
balance of humors)
◉ What was the primary purpose of early asylums? Answer: To confine
individuals with mental illness without treatment (care was custodial,
not therapeutic)
◉ A nurse studies early psychiatric institutions. Which asylum
represents inhumane care? Answer: Bedlam (patients were abused,
chained, and publicly displayed)
◉ Which asylum represents the beginning of humane treatment?
Answer: Bicêtre (this is where reform began under Philippe Pinel)
◉ Which reformer removed chains from patients? Answer: Philippe
Pinel (he promoted dignity and moral treatment)
◉ Who is considered the father of American psychiatry? Answer:
Benjamin Rush (he advanced humane psychiatric care in the U.S.)
, ◉ Which reformer exposed poor conditions in asylums and prisons?
Answer: Dorothea Dix (she advocated for mental health reform)
◉ Which treatment was common in the 17th century? Answer: Bleeding
and starvation (treatments were based on punishment rather than
science)
◉ In which century did psychiatry become a medical specialty? Answer:
18th century (mental illness began to be medically studied)
◉ Which act funded construction of psychiatric hospitals? Answer: Hill-
Burton Act (federal funding expanded institutional care)
◉ Which medication revolutionized mental health treatment? Answer:
Thorazine (first antipsychotic that allowed symptom control)
◉ Which term was previously used for PTSD? Answer: Shell shock
(used to describe combat-related trauma)
◉ Which movement shifted care into the community? Answer:
Deinstitutionalization (patients moved from institutions to outpatient
care)
