Author Question: A client diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID) switches personalities when confronted ... (Read 107 times)

segrsyd · **on:** Jul 19, 2018

A client diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder (DID) switches personalities when confronted with destructive behavior. The nurse recognizes that this dissociation serves which function?

A. It is a means to attain secondary gain.
B. It is a means to explore feelings of excessive and inappropriate guilt.
C. It serves to isolate painful events so that the primary self is protected.
D. It serves to establish personality boundaries and limit inappropriate impulses.

Question 2

A nursing instructor is teaching about the etiology of dissociative disorders from a psychoanalytical perspective. What student statement about clients diagnosed with this disorder indicates that learning has occurred?

A. Dissociative behaviors occur when individuals repress distressing mental information from their conscious awareness.
B. When their physical symptoms relieve them from stressful situations, their amnesia is reinforced.
C. People with dissociative disorders typically have strong egos.
D. There is clear and convincing evidence of a familial predisposition to this disorder.

macmac · **Reply #1 on:** Jul 19, 2018

Answer to Question 1

C
The nurse should anticipate that a client who switches personalities when confronted with destructive behavior is dissociating in order to isolate painful events so that the primary self is protected. The transition between personalities is usually sudden, dramatic, and precipitated by stress.

Answer to Question 2

A
The nurse should understand that from a psychoanalytical perspective, dissociation occurs because of repression of painful information or experiences.