Psychotic Disorders no. 4027

Psychotic Disorders no. 4027

QUESTION: A client is admitted to the psychiatric unit of a local hospital with chronic undifferentiated schizophrenia. During the next several days, the client is seen laughing, yelling, and talking to herself. This behavior is characteristic of:

✘O a.) delusion.
✘O b.) looseness of association.
✘O c.) illusion.
✓O d.) hallucination.

RATIONALE

RATIONALE: Auditory hallucination, in which one hears voices when no external stimuli exist, is common in schizophrenic clients. Such behaviors as laughing, yelling, and talking to oneself suggest such a hallucination. Delusions, also common in schizophrenia, are false beliefs or ideas that arise without external stimuli. Clients with schizophrenia may exhibit looseness of association, a pattern of thinking and communicating in which ideas aren't clearly linked to one another. Illusion is a less severe perceptual disturbance in which the client misinterprets actual external stimuli. Illusions are rarely associated with schizophrenia.
NURSING PROCESS STEP: Evaluation
CLIENT NEEDS CATEGORY: Psychosocial integrity
CLIENT NEEDS SUBCATEGORY: None
COGNITIVE LEVEL: Application