Age Specific Care Quiz Related

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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's accusation of the nurse being homosexual and implying that other men do not trust him or want to be around him suggests projection of the patient's own homosexual urges onto the nurse. This defense mechanism of projection helps the patient avoid acknowledging and dealing with his own uncomfortable feelings by attributing them to someone else.

Option A is incorrect because the patient's behavior is more about projecting feelings onto the nurse rather than unconscious hostility. Option B is incorrect as it focuses on the patient's fear of rejection rather than projecting his own feelings onto the nurse. Option C is incorrect as it does not address the specific dynamic of projecting homosexual urges onto the nurse.