Chapter 1 - Foundations of Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing:
Test Bank for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, 8th Edition
1. The nurse is assessing the factors contributing to the well-being of a newly
admitted client. Which of the following would the nurse identify as having a
positive impact on the individual's mental health?
A) Not needing others for companionship
B) The ability to effectively manage stress
C) A family history of mental illness
D) Striving for total self-reliance
Answer: B
Explanation: The ability to effectively manage stress is an individual factor that positively
influences mental health. Good mental health involves a balance of separateness and
connectedness, so needing others for companionship is normal and healthy. A family history
of mental illness can be a biologic risk factor, and total self-reliance is neither possible nor
indicative of positive mental health.
2. Which of the following statements about mental illness are true? Select all that
apply.
A) Mental illness can cause significant distress, impaired functioning, or both.
B) Mental illness is only due to social/cultural factors.
C) Social/cultural factors that relate to mental illness include excessive dependency
on or withdrawal from relationships.
D) Individuals suffering from mental illness are usually able to cope effectively with
daily life.
E) Individuals suffering from mental illness may experience dissatisfaction with
relationships and self.
Answer: A, E
Explanation: Mental illness can cause significant distress and impaired functioning, and
individuals may experience dissatisfaction with relationships and self. Mental illness is
influenced by individual, interpersonal, and social/cultural factors, not solely social/cultural
ones. Excessive dependency or withdrawal are interpersonal, not social/cultural, factors.
Individuals with mental illness often feel overwhelmed by daily life, not able to cope
effectively.
3. Which of the following are true regarding mental health and mental illness?
A) Behavior that may be viewed as acceptable in one culture is always unacceptable
, in other cultures.
B) It is easy to determine if a person is mentally healthy or mentally ill.
C) In most cases, mental health is a state of emotional, psychological, and social
wellness evidenced by satisfying interpersonal relationships, effective behavior and
coping, positive self-concept, and emotional stability.
D) Persons who engage in fantasies are mentally ill.
Answer: C
Explanation: Mental health is generally defined as a state of emotional, psychological, and
social wellness characterized by satisfying relationships, effective coping, a positive self-
concept, and emotional stability. Cultural perceptions of behavior vary, so what is acceptable
in one culture may not be in another, but it is not "always" unacceptable elsewhere. Defining
mental health and illness is complex and not easy. Engaging in fantasies is not inherently
indicative of mental illness; the inability to distinguish fantasy from reality is a potential
concern.
4. A client grieving the recent loss of her husband asks if she is becoming mentally
ill because she is so sad. The nurse's best response would be,
A) "You may have a temporary mental illness because you are experiencing so much
pain."
B) "You are not mentally ill. This is an expected reaction to the loss you have
experienced."
C) "Were you generally dissatisfied with your relationship before your husband's
death?"
D) "Try not to worry about that right now. You never know what the future brings."
Answer: B
Explanation: Acute grief is an expected and normal reaction to loss, not a mental illness. The
response provides accurate, reassuring information that validates the client's experience
without pathologizing a normal emotional process.
5. The nurse consults the DSM for which of the following purposes?
A) To devise a plan of care for a newly admitted client
B) To predict the client's prognosis of treatment outcomes
C) To document the appropriate diagnostic code in the client's medical record
D) To serve as a guide for client assessment
Answer: D
Explanation: The DSM provides standard nomenclature, defining characteristics, and
identifies underlying causes of mental disorders, serving as a guide for assessment. It does
,not provide care plans, predict prognosis, or dictate treatment outcomes. Diagnosing and
documenting diagnostic codes is generally outside the scope of practice for a generalist RN.
6. Which would be a reason for a student nurse to use the DSM?
A) Identifying the medical diagnosis
B) Treat clients
C) Evaluate treatments
D) Understand the reason for the admission and the nature of psychiatric illnesses.
Answer: D
Explanation: Student nurses use the DSM as a learning resource to understand the client's
admission reasons and to build knowledge about psychiatric illnesses. They do not use it to
diagnose, treat, or evaluate treatments.
7. The legislation enacted in 1963 was largely responsible for which of the following
shifts in care for the mentally ill?
A) The widespread use of community-based services
B) The advancement in pharmacotherapies
C) Increased access to hospitalization
D) Improved rights for clients in long-term institutional care
Answer: A
Explanation: The Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 initiated
deinstitutionalization, leading to the release of individuals from state institutions and the
development of community-based services as an alternative to hospital care.
8. Which one of the following is a result of federal legislation?
A) Making it easier to commit people for mental health treatment against their will.
B) Making it more difficult to commit people for mental health treatment against their
will.
C) State mental institutions being the primary source of care for mentally ill persons.
D) Improved care for mentally ill persons.
Answer: B
Explanation: Commitment laws changed in the early 1970s, making it more difficult to
commit individuals for mental health treatment against their will. This was part of the
movement to protect patient rights.
, 9. The goal of the 1963 Community Mental Health Centers Act was to
A) ensure patients' rights for the mentally ill.
B) deinstitutionalize state hospitals.
C) provide funds to build hospitals with psychiatric units.
D) treat people with mental illness in a humane fashion.
Answer: B
Explanation: The 1963 Community Mental Health Centers Act initiated the movement
toward treating individuals with mental illness in less restrictive environments, shifting care
from large state institutions to community-based settings.
10. The creation of asylums during the 1800s was meant to
A) improve treatment of mental disorders.
B) provide food and shelter for the mentally ill.
C) punish people with mental illness who were believed to be possessed.
D) remove dangerous people with mental illness from the community.
Answer: B
Explanation: Asylums were intended to be safe havens providing food, shelter, and humane
treatment for the mentally ill, not to improve treatment, punish individuals, or remove
dangerous people from the community.
11. The major problems with large state institutions are: Select all that apply.
A) attendants were accused of abusing the residents.
B) stigma associated with residence in an insane asylum.
C) clients were geographically isolated from family and community.
D) increasing financial costs to individual residents.
Answer: A, C
Explanation: Major problems included abuse by attendants and geographic isolation of clients
from their families and communities due to the remote locations of state institutions. Stigma
and financial costs to residents were not identified as the primary major problems.
12. A significant change in the treatment of people with mental illness occurred in
the 1950s when
A) community support services were established.
B) legislation dramatically changed civil commitment procedures.
C) the Patient's Bill of Rights was enacted.
D) psychotropic drugs became available for use.
Answer: D
Test Bank for Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing, 8th Edition
1. The nurse is assessing the factors contributing to the well-being of a newly
admitted client. Which of the following would the nurse identify as having a
positive impact on the individual's mental health?
A) Not needing others for companionship
B) The ability to effectively manage stress
C) A family history of mental illness
D) Striving for total self-reliance
Answer: B
Explanation: The ability to effectively manage stress is an individual factor that positively
influences mental health. Good mental health involves a balance of separateness and
connectedness, so needing others for companionship is normal and healthy. A family history
of mental illness can be a biologic risk factor, and total self-reliance is neither possible nor
indicative of positive mental health.
2. Which of the following statements about mental illness are true? Select all that
apply.
A) Mental illness can cause significant distress, impaired functioning, or both.
B) Mental illness is only due to social/cultural factors.
C) Social/cultural factors that relate to mental illness include excessive dependency
on or withdrawal from relationships.
D) Individuals suffering from mental illness are usually able to cope effectively with
daily life.
E) Individuals suffering from mental illness may experience dissatisfaction with
relationships and self.
Answer: A, E
Explanation: Mental illness can cause significant distress and impaired functioning, and
individuals may experience dissatisfaction with relationships and self. Mental illness is
influenced by individual, interpersonal, and social/cultural factors, not solely social/cultural
ones. Excessive dependency or withdrawal are interpersonal, not social/cultural, factors.
Individuals with mental illness often feel overwhelmed by daily life, not able to cope
effectively.
3. Which of the following are true regarding mental health and mental illness?
A) Behavior that may be viewed as acceptable in one culture is always unacceptable
, in other cultures.
B) It is easy to determine if a person is mentally healthy or mentally ill.
C) In most cases, mental health is a state of emotional, psychological, and social
wellness evidenced by satisfying interpersonal relationships, effective behavior and
coping, positive self-concept, and emotional stability.
D) Persons who engage in fantasies are mentally ill.
Answer: C
Explanation: Mental health is generally defined as a state of emotional, psychological, and
social wellness characterized by satisfying relationships, effective coping, a positive self-
concept, and emotional stability. Cultural perceptions of behavior vary, so what is acceptable
in one culture may not be in another, but it is not "always" unacceptable elsewhere. Defining
mental health and illness is complex and not easy. Engaging in fantasies is not inherently
indicative of mental illness; the inability to distinguish fantasy from reality is a potential
concern.
4. A client grieving the recent loss of her husband asks if she is becoming mentally
ill because she is so sad. The nurse's best response would be,
A) "You may have a temporary mental illness because you are experiencing so much
pain."
B) "You are not mentally ill. This is an expected reaction to the loss you have
experienced."
C) "Were you generally dissatisfied with your relationship before your husband's
death?"
D) "Try not to worry about that right now. You never know what the future brings."
Answer: B
Explanation: Acute grief is an expected and normal reaction to loss, not a mental illness. The
response provides accurate, reassuring information that validates the client's experience
without pathologizing a normal emotional process.
5. The nurse consults the DSM for which of the following purposes?
A) To devise a plan of care for a newly admitted client
B) To predict the client's prognosis of treatment outcomes
C) To document the appropriate diagnostic code in the client's medical record
D) To serve as a guide for client assessment
Answer: D
Explanation: The DSM provides standard nomenclature, defining characteristics, and
identifies underlying causes of mental disorders, serving as a guide for assessment. It does
,not provide care plans, predict prognosis, or dictate treatment outcomes. Diagnosing and
documenting diagnostic codes is generally outside the scope of practice for a generalist RN.
6. Which would be a reason for a student nurse to use the DSM?
A) Identifying the medical diagnosis
B) Treat clients
C) Evaluate treatments
D) Understand the reason for the admission and the nature of psychiatric illnesses.
Answer: D
Explanation: Student nurses use the DSM as a learning resource to understand the client's
admission reasons and to build knowledge about psychiatric illnesses. They do not use it to
diagnose, treat, or evaluate treatments.
7. The legislation enacted in 1963 was largely responsible for which of the following
shifts in care for the mentally ill?
A) The widespread use of community-based services
B) The advancement in pharmacotherapies
C) Increased access to hospitalization
D) Improved rights for clients in long-term institutional care
Answer: A
Explanation: The Community Mental Health Centers Construction Act of 1963 initiated
deinstitutionalization, leading to the release of individuals from state institutions and the
development of community-based services as an alternative to hospital care.
8. Which one of the following is a result of federal legislation?
A) Making it easier to commit people for mental health treatment against their will.
B) Making it more difficult to commit people for mental health treatment against their
will.
C) State mental institutions being the primary source of care for mentally ill persons.
D) Improved care for mentally ill persons.
Answer: B
Explanation: Commitment laws changed in the early 1970s, making it more difficult to
commit individuals for mental health treatment against their will. This was part of the
movement to protect patient rights.
, 9. The goal of the 1963 Community Mental Health Centers Act was to
A) ensure patients' rights for the mentally ill.
B) deinstitutionalize state hospitals.
C) provide funds to build hospitals with psychiatric units.
D) treat people with mental illness in a humane fashion.
Answer: B
Explanation: The 1963 Community Mental Health Centers Act initiated the movement
toward treating individuals with mental illness in less restrictive environments, shifting care
from large state institutions to community-based settings.
10. The creation of asylums during the 1800s was meant to
A) improve treatment of mental disorders.
B) provide food and shelter for the mentally ill.
C) punish people with mental illness who were believed to be possessed.
D) remove dangerous people with mental illness from the community.
Answer: B
Explanation: Asylums were intended to be safe havens providing food, shelter, and humane
treatment for the mentally ill, not to improve treatment, punish individuals, or remove
dangerous people from the community.
11. The major problems with large state institutions are: Select all that apply.
A) attendants were accused of abusing the residents.
B) stigma associated with residence in an insane asylum.
C) clients were geographically isolated from family and community.
D) increasing financial costs to individual residents.
Answer: A, C
Explanation: Major problems included abuse by attendants and geographic isolation of clients
from their families and communities due to the remote locations of state institutions. Stigma
and financial costs to residents were not identified as the primary major problems.
12. A significant change in the treatment of people with mental illness occurred in
the 1950s when
A) community support services were established.
B) legislation dramatically changed civil commitment procedures.
C) the Patient's Bill of Rights was enacted.
D) psychotropic drugs became available for use.
Answer: D
