Population Specific Care Related

Review Population Specific Care related questions and content

A male patient diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia typically relates effectively with female staff but angrily tells the male nurse, 'You act like a homosexual. None of the men trust you or want to be around you.' The nurse, who is heterosexual, is perplexed by the patient's statements and discusses the event with his mentor. Which explanation most likely underlies the patient's behavior?

  • A. The patient was unleashing unconscious, hostile feelings toward the nurse.
  • B. The patient feared the nurse would reject him, so he coped by rejecting the nurse first.
  • C. It was the patient's way of distancing himself from potential emotional intimacy.
  • D. The patient was coping with homosexual urges by projecting them onto the nurse.
Correct Answer: D

Rationale: The correct answer is D because the patient is exhibiting the defense mechanism of projection by attributing his own uncomfortable feelings (homosexual urges) to the nurse. This defense mechanism allows the patient to disown his feelings and project them onto others. This behavior is common in individuals struggling with their own conflicting desires or impulses.

Incorrect choices:
A: Unconscious hostile feelings are not necessarily the root cause in this scenario.
B: The patient's behavior is not about preemptively rejecting the nurse due to fear of rejection.
C: While emotional intimacy may play a role, the patient's behavior is more about projection of his own feelings onto the nurse rather than distancing himself.