Nurs 2003 Midterm Test Questions and
All Correct Answers 2025-2026
Updated.
Stress - Answer the inability to cope with perceived (real or imagined) demands or threats to
an individual’s mental, emotional, or spiritual wellbeing. stress occurs when individuals perceive
that they cannot adequately cope with demands being made on them or when their well-being
is threatened.
Stressors - Answer - stress-inducing demands
- can be physiological or emotional- psychological and positive or negative.
- they require an individual to adapt to a situation
physiological stressors - Answer burns, chronic pain, birth of a baby, infectious disease,
excessive noise, inadequate nutrition, running a marathon
emotional-psychological stressors - Answer diagnosis of cancer, marital and other family
problems, failing an examination, inadequate financial resources, grieving, a prolonged period
of caregiving
the concepts of stress - Answer - it is a phenomenon
- a non-specific response of the body to any demand made on it
- it is subjective
- occurs when one perceives they cannot adequately cope with demands being made on them...
or when their wellbeing is threatened
daily hassels - Answer experiences and conditions of daily living that are viewed as irritating,
frustrating, and distressing
eustress - Answer stress associated with positive events such as the birth of a child
work-related stress - Answer occurs when there is an imbalance between work demands and
a worker's ability to cope with these demands.
hardiness - Answer the way a person deals with stress (commitment, openness to change)...
internal locus of control
,sense of coherence - Answer how a person sees the world and one's life in it (optimistic; life
is meaningful)
resilience - Answer being resourceful, flexible, and, using problem-solving strategies
attitude - Answer postitive vs negative
stress as a stimulus (holmes, rahe, masuda, miller) - Answer - social readjustment rating
scale
- the assumption is that frequent changes in life make people more at risk
- stress is a stimulus that causes a response
stress as a transaction (lazarus and folkman) - Answer - neuro-scientific way of appraising
stress cognitively
- focuses on person-environment interactions
- emphasizes the role of cognitive appraisal in assessing stressful situations and selecting coping
options
- cognitive appraisal is divided into two stages: primary and secondary
primary appraisal - Answer focuses on the influence or effect of the stressor
secondary appraisal - Answer involves positive or negative perceptions that the individual
holds concerning his or her ability to overcome the stressor.
selyes theory of stress as a resource - Answer - stress as a response to a demand or stressor
that elicts a series of physiological changes to which the person must adapt.
- general adaption syndrome
1. alarm reaction
2. stage of resistance
3. stage of exhaustion
alarm reaction - Answer - acute stress
- person perceives a stressor physically or mentally
- "fight or flight"
- temporarily decreases the individual's resistance and may even result in disease or death if the
stress is prolonged and severe
- sympathoadrenal response
, stage of resistance - Answer - a person uses a variety of physiological resources to help them
cope with the stress they are experiencing
- it is with the hope that a person will adapt and return to a normal state of equilibrium when
these resources are implemented
- phsycial energy is still being used at this point to adapt, they enter the next phase of the GAS
stage of exhaustion - Answer - the final stage of the GAS
- All physical resources have been expended
- may see an improvement in physiological symptoms prior to death (i.e., increase in mental
alertness, normalization of vital signs)
- can be remedied if a person is treated medically, psychologically.
cerebral cortex (stress) - Answer the emotional-psychological events (Stressor) is evaluated
with reference to past experiences and future consequences, and a course of action is planned.
these functions are involved in the perception of a stressor
limbic system (stress) - Answer lies in the inner mid-portion of the brain near the base of the
brain. the limbic system is an important mediator of emotions and behaviour. when the limbic
system is stimulated, emotions, feelings, and behaviours that ensure survival and self-
preservation may occur.
reticular formation (stress) - Answer - the reticular formation is located between the lower
end of the brainstem and the thalamus. it contains the reticular activating system, which is
crucial for the state of wakefulness
- when stimulated, the reticular activating system sends impulses to the limbic system and the
cerebral cortex, which produce arousal and emotional responses to the stressor. stress usually
increases the degree of wakefulness and can lead to sleep disturbances
hypothalamus (stress) - Answer - lies at the base of the brain just above the pituitary gland,
has many functions in the adaption of stress
- the central connection between nervous and endocrine systems in the stress response
- sends signals via nerve fibers to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. it also releases
hormones that regulate the secretion of the adrenocorticotrophic hormone by the anterior
pituitary gland.
endocrine system (stress) - Answer - once the hypothalamus is activated in response to
stress, the endocrine system becomes involved.
- the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the medulla to release epinephrine and
norepinephrine (catecholamines), which initiates a protective reflex called the fight or flight
response
All Correct Answers 2025-2026
Updated.
Stress - Answer the inability to cope with perceived (real or imagined) demands or threats to
an individual’s mental, emotional, or spiritual wellbeing. stress occurs when individuals perceive
that they cannot adequately cope with demands being made on them or when their well-being
is threatened.
Stressors - Answer - stress-inducing demands
- can be physiological or emotional- psychological and positive or negative.
- they require an individual to adapt to a situation
physiological stressors - Answer burns, chronic pain, birth of a baby, infectious disease,
excessive noise, inadequate nutrition, running a marathon
emotional-psychological stressors - Answer diagnosis of cancer, marital and other family
problems, failing an examination, inadequate financial resources, grieving, a prolonged period
of caregiving
the concepts of stress - Answer - it is a phenomenon
- a non-specific response of the body to any demand made on it
- it is subjective
- occurs when one perceives they cannot adequately cope with demands being made on them...
or when their wellbeing is threatened
daily hassels - Answer experiences and conditions of daily living that are viewed as irritating,
frustrating, and distressing
eustress - Answer stress associated with positive events such as the birth of a child
work-related stress - Answer occurs when there is an imbalance between work demands and
a worker's ability to cope with these demands.
hardiness - Answer the way a person deals with stress (commitment, openness to change)...
internal locus of control
,sense of coherence - Answer how a person sees the world and one's life in it (optimistic; life
is meaningful)
resilience - Answer being resourceful, flexible, and, using problem-solving strategies
attitude - Answer postitive vs negative
stress as a stimulus (holmes, rahe, masuda, miller) - Answer - social readjustment rating
scale
- the assumption is that frequent changes in life make people more at risk
- stress is a stimulus that causes a response
stress as a transaction (lazarus and folkman) - Answer - neuro-scientific way of appraising
stress cognitively
- focuses on person-environment interactions
- emphasizes the role of cognitive appraisal in assessing stressful situations and selecting coping
options
- cognitive appraisal is divided into two stages: primary and secondary
primary appraisal - Answer focuses on the influence or effect of the stressor
secondary appraisal - Answer involves positive or negative perceptions that the individual
holds concerning his or her ability to overcome the stressor.
selyes theory of stress as a resource - Answer - stress as a response to a demand or stressor
that elicts a series of physiological changes to which the person must adapt.
- general adaption syndrome
1. alarm reaction
2. stage of resistance
3. stage of exhaustion
alarm reaction - Answer - acute stress
- person perceives a stressor physically or mentally
- "fight or flight"
- temporarily decreases the individual's resistance and may even result in disease or death if the
stress is prolonged and severe
- sympathoadrenal response
, stage of resistance - Answer - a person uses a variety of physiological resources to help them
cope with the stress they are experiencing
- it is with the hope that a person will adapt and return to a normal state of equilibrium when
these resources are implemented
- phsycial energy is still being used at this point to adapt, they enter the next phase of the GAS
stage of exhaustion - Answer - the final stage of the GAS
- All physical resources have been expended
- may see an improvement in physiological symptoms prior to death (i.e., increase in mental
alertness, normalization of vital signs)
- can be remedied if a person is treated medically, psychologically.
cerebral cortex (stress) - Answer the emotional-psychological events (Stressor) is evaluated
with reference to past experiences and future consequences, and a course of action is planned.
these functions are involved in the perception of a stressor
limbic system (stress) - Answer lies in the inner mid-portion of the brain near the base of the
brain. the limbic system is an important mediator of emotions and behaviour. when the limbic
system is stimulated, emotions, feelings, and behaviours that ensure survival and self-
preservation may occur.
reticular formation (stress) - Answer - the reticular formation is located between the lower
end of the brainstem and the thalamus. it contains the reticular activating system, which is
crucial for the state of wakefulness
- when stimulated, the reticular activating system sends impulses to the limbic system and the
cerebral cortex, which produce arousal and emotional responses to the stressor. stress usually
increases the degree of wakefulness and can lead to sleep disturbances
hypothalamus (stress) - Answer - lies at the base of the brain just above the pituitary gland,
has many functions in the adaption of stress
- the central connection between nervous and endocrine systems in the stress response
- sends signals via nerve fibers to stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. it also releases
hormones that regulate the secretion of the adrenocorticotrophic hormone by the anterior
pituitary gland.
endocrine system (stress) - Answer - once the hypothalamus is activated in response to
stress, the endocrine system becomes involved.
- the sympathetic nervous system stimulates the medulla to release epinephrine and
norepinephrine (catecholamines), which initiates a protective reflex called the fight or flight
response
