A patient diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia angrily tells a ...

[iveyjurea]

A patient diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia angrily tells a nurse, You act like a homosexual. No one trusts you or wants to be around you. Select the most likely analysis. The patient:
 
  a. is showing reaction formation in response to feelings of abandonment.
  b. is unleashing unconscious, hostile feelings toward the nurse.
  c. is dwelling on others' shortcomings, thus placing them on the defensive.
  d. may be projecting homosexual urges.

Question 2

A patient with schizophrenia says, Contagious bacteria are everywhere. When they get in your body, you will be locked up with other infected people. Which problem is evident?
 
  a. Poverty of content
  b. Concrete thinking
  c. Neologisms
  d. Paranoia

[carolinefletcherr]

Answer to Question 1

ANS: D
Patients with paranoid ideation unconsciously use the defense mechanism projection to deal with unacceptable, anxiety-producing ideas and impulses, in this case homosexual urges. Although the behavior seems hostile, the projection is homosexual urges rather than hostility. Patients who exhibit paranoid ideation usually fear abandonment, but this situation does not represent reaction formation to abandonment feelings. Although it is true that dwelling on others' shortcomings places them on the defensive, it is not the correct analysis of the behavior described in the scenario.

Answer to Question 2

ANS: D
The patient's unrealistic fear of harm indicates paranoia. Neologisms are invented words. Concrete thinking involves literal interpretation. Poverty of content refers to an inadequate fund of information.