Chapter 03: Communication
Yoost & Crawford: Fundamentals of Nursing: Active Learning for Collaborative
Practice, 2nd Edition
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. The
... [Show More] nurse is caring for an adult patient with a recent below-the-knee amputation. During shift
report, the nurse reports that the patient has urinated in the bed multiple times since the
surgery. The nurse knows which defense mechanism best describes this behavior?
a. Compensation
b. Denial
c. Rationalization
d. Regression
ANS: D
Regression is the return to an earlier developmental stage as a means of avoiding unpleasant
or unacceptable thoughts. The adult patient recently lost a limb and reverted to bedwetting as
a coping mechanism. Compensation refers to a strategy that uses a personal strength to
counterbalance a weakness or a feeling of inadequacy. Refusing to accept a fact or reality as
truth is termed denial. Rationalization is the act of suggesting a different explanation for one
that is painful, negative, or unacceptable.
DIF: Understanding OBJ: 3.8 TOP: Assessment
MSC: NCLEX Client Needs Category: Psychosocial Integrity NOT: Concepts: Coping
2. A female patient is admitted to the emergency department after being raped by a neighbor.
The patient refuses to discuss the circumstances surrounding the event with the sexual assault
nurse examiner. The nurse identifies that the patient is utilizing which defense mechanism?
a. Suppression
b. Sublimation
c. Displacement
d. Rationalization
ANS: A
Suppression is the conscious decision to conceal unacceptable or painful thoughts. The patient
refuses to talk about the rape possibly because of the emotional and physical pain associated
with the act. Sublimation is the rechanneling of unacceptable impulses into socially acceptable
activities. Displacement is an unconscious defense mechanism used to avoid conflict and
anxiety by transferring emotions from one object to another object that produces less anxiety.
Rationalization is the act of suggesting a different explanation for one that is painful, negative,
or unacceptable.
DIF: Understanding OBJ: 3.8 TOP: Assessment
MSC: NCLEX Client Needs Category: Psychosocial Integrity NOT: Concepts: Coping [Show Less]