Question: A 5-year-old child moves and talks constantly. The child awakens before the parents every morning. The child attends kindergarten, but the teacher reports difficulty handling the behavior. What is this child’s most likely problem?
Answer Choices: a. Tic disorder b. Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) c. Intellectual development disorder (IDD) d. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Answer: d. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Question: The health care provider prescribes medication for a child diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). What is the desired behavior for which the nurse should evaluate the child?
Answer Choices: a. Improved ability for cooperative play with other children b. Reduced hyperactivity and improvement in classroom focus c. Ability to identify anxiety and implement self-control strategies d. Improved socialization skills with other children and authority figures
Answer: b. Reduced hyperactivity and improvement in classroom focus
Question: A 5-year-old child diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) bounces out of a chair in the waiting room, runs across the room, and begins to slap another child. What is the nurse’s best action?
Answer Choices: a. Call for emergency assistance from another staff member. b. Instruct the parents to take the child home immediately. c. Direct this child to stop, and then comfort the other child. d. Take the child into another room with toys to act out feelings.
Answer: d. Take the child into another room with toys to act out feelings.
Question: A desired outcome for a 12-year-old diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) is to improve relationships with other children. Which treatment modality should the nurse suggest for the plan of care?
Answer Choices: a. Bibliotherapy b. Music therapy c. Social skills groups d. Behavior modification
Answer: c. Social skills groups
Question: A child diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is going to begin medication therapy. The nurse should plan to teach the family about which classification of medications?
Answer Choices: a. Central nervous system stimulants and nonstimulants b. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) c. Anxiolytic medications d. Antipsychotic medications
Answer: a. Central nervous system stimulants and nonstimulants
Question: A nurse will prepare teaching materials regarding which medication for the parents of a child diagnosed with enuresis?
Answer Choices: a. Haloperidol b. Desmopressin c. Methylphenidate d. Carbamazepine
Answer: b. Desmopressin
Question: Shortly after a 15-year-old’s parents announce a plan to divorce, the adolescent stops participating in sports, sits alone at lunch, and avoids former friends. The adolescent says, “All the other kids have families. If my parents loved me, then they would stay together.” Which nursing intervention is most appropriate?
Answer Choices: a. Develop a plan for activities of daily living. b. Communicate disbelief relative to the adolescent’s feelings. c. Assist the adolescent to differentiate reality from perceptions. d. Assess and document the adolescent’s level of depression daily.
Answer: c. Assist the adolescent to differentiate reality from perceptions.
Question: When group therapy is to be used as a treatment modality, the nurse should suggest placing a 9-year-old in a group that focuses on what?
Answer Choices: a. Play activities exclusively. b. Group discussion exclusively. c. Talk focused on a specific issue. d. Play and then talk about the play activity.
Answer: d. Play and then talk about the play activity.
Question: When assessing a 2-year-old diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, what should a nurse expect?
Answer Choices: a. Hyperactivity and attention deficits b. Failure to develop interpersonal social skills c. History of disobedience and destructive acts d. High levels of anxiety when separated from a parent
Answer: b. Failure to develop interpersonal social skills
Question: A 4-year-old child cries and screams from the time the parents leave the child at preschool until the child is picked up 4 hours later. The child is calm and relaxed when the parents are present. The parents ask, “What should we do?” What is the nurse’s best recommendation?
Answer Choices: a. “Send a picture of yourself to school to keep with the child.” b. “Arrange with the teacher to let the child call home at playtime.” c. “Talk with the school about withdrawing the child until maturity increases.” d. “Talk with your health care provider about a referral to a mental health professional.”
Answer: d. “Talk with your health care provider about a referral to a mental health professional.”
Question: A 15-year-old adolescent has run away from home six times. After the adolescent was arrested for prostitution, the parents told the court, “We can’t manage our teenager.” The adolescent is physically abusive to the mother and defiant with the father. The adolescent’s problem is most consistent with criteria for which disorder?
Answer Choices: a. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) b. Childhood depression c. Conduct disorder (CD) d. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
Answer: c. Conduct disorder (CD)
Question: A 15-year-old adolescent is referred to a residential program after an arrest for theft and running away from home. At the program, the adolescent refuses to participate in scheduled activities and pushes a staff member, causing a fall. Which approach by the nursing staff would be most therapeutic?
Answer Choices: a. Neutrally permit refusals. b. Coax to gain compliance. c. Offer rewards in advance. d. Establish firm limits.
Answer: d. Establish firm limits.
Question: An adolescent diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder says, “My parents focus all their attention on my brother instead of me. He’s perfect in their eyes.” Which type of therapy might promote the greatest change in this adolescent’s behavior?
Answer Choices: a. Bibliotherapy b. Play therapy c. Family therapy d. Behavior modification therapy
Answer: c. Family therapy
Question: A nurse assesses a 3-year-old diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Which finding is most associated with the child’s disorder?
Answer Choices: a. Has occasional toileting accidents. b. Cries when separated from a parent. c. Continuously rocks in place for 30 minutes.
Answer: d. Continuously rocks in place for 30 minutes.
Question: Which finding would prompt the nurse to carefully assess an 8-year-old child for development of a psychiatric disorder?
Answer Choices: a. Being raised by a parent with chronic major depressive disorder b. Moving to three new homes over a 2-year period c. Not being promoted to the next grade d. Having an imaginary friend
Answer: a. Being raised by a parent with chronic major depressive disorder
Question: A nurse assesses the four children below. Which assessment findings should prompt the nurse to refer the child for further evaluation?
Answer Choices: a. A 4-year-old who stuttered for 3 weeks after the birth of a sibling. b. A 9-month-old who does not eat vegetables and likes to be rocked. c. A 3-month-old who cries after feeding until burped and sucks a thumb. d. A 3-year-old who is mute, passive toward adults, and twirls while walking.
Answer: d. A 3-year-old who is mute, passive toward adults, and twirls while walking.
Question: The child most likely to receive propranolol to manage tremors is one diagnosed with which disorder?
Answer Choices: a. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) b. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) c. Autistic spectrum disorder d. Separation anxiety
Answer: c. Autistic spectrum disorder
Question: A 12-year-old child has been the neighborhood bully for several years. The parents say, “We can’t believe anything our child says.” Recently, the child shot a dog with a pellet gun and set fire to a trash bin outside a store. The child’s behaviors are most consistent with which disorder?
Answer Choices: a. Conduct disorder (CD) b. Defiance of authority c. Anxiety over separation from a parent d. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Answer: a. Conduct disorder (CD)
Question: The parent of a child diagnosed with Tourette’s disorder says to the nurse, “I think my child is faking the tics because they come and go.” Which response by the nurse is accurate?
Answer Choices: a. “Perhaps your child was misdiagnosed.” b. “Your observation indicates the medication is effective.” c. “Tics often change frequency or severity. That does not mean they aren’t real.” d. “This finding is unexpected. How have you been administering your child’s medication?”
Answer: c. “Tics often change frequency or severity. That does not mean they aren’t real.”