Mental Health Terms & Definitions
Midterm Exam Questions And Correct
Answers 2024.
mental health - Answer The successful performance of mental functions shown by productive
activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and to cope with
adversity
mental illness - Answer Maladaptive responses to stressors from the internal or external environment,
evidenced by thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are incongruent with the local and cultural norms,
and interfere with the individual's social, occupational and/or physical functioning.
What are the DSM-IV-TR axes? - Answer Five domains that classify and define mental illness and
psychosocial functioning; one person may have a diagnosis on all five axes at once.
DSM-IV-TR Axis I - Answer Clinical disorders and other conditions that may be a focus of clinical
attention; includes all mental disorders except personality disorders and mental retardation
DSM-IV-TR Axis II - Answer Personality disorders and mental retardation; disorders that begin in
childhood or adolescence and persist in a stable form into adult life
DSM-IV-TR Axis III - Answer General Medical Conditions; include any current general medical condition
that is potentially relevant to the understanding or management of the pt's mental disorder
DSM-IV-TR Axis IV - Answer Psychosocial and Environmental Problems; these may affect the mental
disorders on Axes I, II; ie problems related to primary support group, occupation, economics, etc.
DSM-IV-TR Axis V - Answer Global Assessment of Functioning; GAF scale allows clinicians to rate the
individual's overall functioning; a single measure of the pt's psychological, social & occupational
functioning
, affect - Answer the behavioral expression of emotion; may be appropriate (congruent w/ situation);
inappropriate (incongruent w/ situation); constricted or blunted (diminished range & intensity); or flat
(absence of emotional expression)
delusion - Answer false personal beliefs not consistent with a person's intelligence or cultural
background; belief continues in spite of obvious proof that it is false and/or irrational
dementia - Answer global impairment of cognitive functioning that is progressive and interferes with
social and occupational abilities; chronic and progressive
hallucination - Answer false sensory perceptions not associated with real external stimuli; may involve
any of the five senses
flight of ideas - Answer continuous flow of accelerated speech with abrupt changes from topic to topic
loose associations - Answer speech shifts from one unrelated subject to another; the individual is
unaware
echolalia - Answer the parrotlike repetition, by an individual with loose ego boundaries, of the words
spoken by another
word salad - Answer a group of words put together in random fashion
paranoia - Answer extreme suspiciousness
phobia - Answer an irrational fear
delirium - Answer a temporary state of confusion; may include hallucinations; may be triggered by an
infection in the elderly; an emergency requiring immediate, aggressive intervention
positive symptoms of schizophrenia - Answer tend to reflect an excess or distortion of normal
functions; "active" symptoms; include hallucinations, delusions, word salad, echolalia
Midterm Exam Questions And Correct
Answers 2024.
mental health - Answer The successful performance of mental functions shown by productive
activities, fulfilling relationships with other people, and the ability to adapt to change and to cope with
adversity
mental illness - Answer Maladaptive responses to stressors from the internal or external environment,
evidenced by thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that are incongruent with the local and cultural norms,
and interfere with the individual's social, occupational and/or physical functioning.
What are the DSM-IV-TR axes? - Answer Five domains that classify and define mental illness and
psychosocial functioning; one person may have a diagnosis on all five axes at once.
DSM-IV-TR Axis I - Answer Clinical disorders and other conditions that may be a focus of clinical
attention; includes all mental disorders except personality disorders and mental retardation
DSM-IV-TR Axis II - Answer Personality disorders and mental retardation; disorders that begin in
childhood or adolescence and persist in a stable form into adult life
DSM-IV-TR Axis III - Answer General Medical Conditions; include any current general medical condition
that is potentially relevant to the understanding or management of the pt's mental disorder
DSM-IV-TR Axis IV - Answer Psychosocial and Environmental Problems; these may affect the mental
disorders on Axes I, II; ie problems related to primary support group, occupation, economics, etc.
DSM-IV-TR Axis V - Answer Global Assessment of Functioning; GAF scale allows clinicians to rate the
individual's overall functioning; a single measure of the pt's psychological, social & occupational
functioning
, affect - Answer the behavioral expression of emotion; may be appropriate (congruent w/ situation);
inappropriate (incongruent w/ situation); constricted or blunted (diminished range & intensity); or flat
(absence of emotional expression)
delusion - Answer false personal beliefs not consistent with a person's intelligence or cultural
background; belief continues in spite of obvious proof that it is false and/or irrational
dementia - Answer global impairment of cognitive functioning that is progressive and interferes with
social and occupational abilities; chronic and progressive
hallucination - Answer false sensory perceptions not associated with real external stimuli; may involve
any of the five senses
flight of ideas - Answer continuous flow of accelerated speech with abrupt changes from topic to topic
loose associations - Answer speech shifts from one unrelated subject to another; the individual is
unaware
echolalia - Answer the parrotlike repetition, by an individual with loose ego boundaries, of the words
spoken by another
word salad - Answer a group of words put together in random fashion
paranoia - Answer extreme suspiciousness
phobia - Answer an irrational fear
delirium - Answer a temporary state of confusion; may include hallucinations; may be triggered by an
infection in the elderly; an emergency requiring immediate, aggressive intervention
positive symptoms of schizophrenia - Answer tend to reflect an excess or distortion of normal
functions; "active" symptoms; include hallucinations, delusions, word salad, echolalia
