ATI RN
ATI Mental Health Exam f24 Questions
Extract:
Question 1 of 5
A nurse is reviewing the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia. Which of the following symptoms must be present for a client to be diagnosed with schizophrenia? (Select all that apply.)
Correct Answer: C,E,F
Rationale: Disorganized behavior, hallucinations, and lack of emotional expression (affective flattening) are DSM-5 criteria. Impaired relationships and avolition are secondary, and antisocial personality is a separate condition.
Question 2 of 5
When engaged in therapeutic communication with a client who has been diagnosed with a mental disorder, which is the most important principle for a nurse to keep in mind?
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Keeping the client as the focus ensures their needs drive the interaction, foundational to therapeutic communication. Empathy supports this, self-disclosure is limited, and recording breaches privacy.
Question 3 of 5
A nurse is conducting a group therapy session for several clients. The group is laughing at a joke one of the clients told, when a client who is schizophrenic jumps up and runs out of the room yelling, 'You are all making fun of me!' The nurse should identify this behavior as which of the following characteristics of schizophrenia?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Ideas of reference involve believing neutral events, like laughter, are personally directed, as the client misinterprets the group’s reaction. Delusions of grandeur inflate self-importance, loose association disrupts thought connections, and magical thinking assumes unrealistic control, none fitting the scenario.
Question 4 of 5
A nurse is caring for a client who is hospitalized for a mental disorder. The nurse is legally obligated to breach the client's confidentiality if the client makes which statement?
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: The threat to harm a neighbor triggers a duty to warn, overriding confidentiality to prevent harm. Delusions, anger, or attraction don’t indicate imminent danger, so confidentiality holds.
Question 5 of 5
A nurse is providing education to a group of staff members about schizophrenia. Which of the following age groups should the nurse include as the age when schizophrenia is typically diagnosed?
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Schizophrenia onset typically occurs in young adulthood (16–30), aligning with symptom emergence. Preschool or school-age diagnoses are rare, and older adulthood onset is less common, as the disorder usually manifests earlier.