Test Bank for Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practice - Family Assessment and Interventions Related

Review Test Bank for Psychiatric Nursing: Contemporary Practice - Family Assessment and Interventions related questions and content

A couple who have a 7-year-old son have been experiencing growing tension and anxiety in their relationship. However, the tension and anxiety between them lessened when the mother began focusing most of her attention on the son. When applying the family systems therapy model concept of triangulation, which of the following would the nurse expect to assess in the child?

  • A. Enjoying his mother?s increasing attention and growing even closer to her
  • B. Growing distant from his father and blaming him for all of the family?s problems
  • C. Developing problematic symptoms in response to his mother?s increasing attention
  • D. Resenting mother for her suffocating attention and his father?s growing distance
Correct Answer: C

Rationale: In triangulation, a family member (the child) is drawn into parental conflict, often leading to problematic symptoms (e.g., behavioral or emotional issues) due to the stress of being the focus of redirected tension. Options A, B, and D may occur but are not the primary expected outcome in triangulation.