What is waxy flexibility in psychiatric patients?

Maintaining limbs in a fixed position

Repetitive, purposeless movements like rocking or pacing

Rapid, involuntary muscle jerks or spasms

Resistance to passive movement followed by a sudden release

Answer and Explanation

The Correct Answer is A

Choice A reason: Waxy flexibility, seen in catatonia, involves patients maintaining limbs in fixed positions when placed there, reflecting basal ganglia and prefrontal cortex dysfunction. This passive rigidity is a hallmark of catatonic schizophrenia or mood disorders, making this the correct choice.

Choice B reason: Repetitive, purposeless movements like rocking are stereotypic behaviors, often in autism or anxiety disorders. These active movements differ from the passive, fixed posturing of waxy flexibility in catatonia, making this choice incorrect.

Choice C reason: Rapid, involuntary muscle jerks or spasms are extrapyramidal symptoms, often from antipsychotics affecting dopamine pathways. These are distinct from the sustained, passive limb positioning in waxy flexibility, making this choice incorrect for the described phenomenon.

Choice D reason: Resistance to passive movement followed by release describes cogwheel rigidity, seen in Parkinson’s disease, due to dopamine deficits. Waxy flexibility involves sustained positioning without resistance, making this choice incorrect for the catatonic feature described.

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Correct Answer is C

Explanation

Choice A reason: Expressing empathy, such as acknowledging the difficulty of the loss, fosters a therapeutic connection. It validates the patient’s emotions, encouraging open expression of grief, which is essential for processing loss and aligns with therapeutic communication principles, making this choice therapeutic.

Choice B reason: Asking the patient to elaborate on their feelings is a therapeutic open-ended question. It promotes exploration of emotions, facilitating grief processing by engaging the patient’s prefrontal cortex in reflecting on their experience, making this a therapeutic response and incorrect for the question.

Choice C reason: Saying “You’ll feel better soon” minimizes the patient’s grief, dismissing their current emotional state. This nontherapeutic response can inhibit emotional expression, as it implies a timeline for grief recovery, potentially disrupting the patient’s natural mourning process, making this the correct choice.

Choice D reason: Offering support and encouraging discussion is therapeutic, as it builds trust and validates the patient’s experience. This response engages the patient in processing grief, supporting emotional regulation through empathetic communication, making it a therapeutic response and incorrect for the question.

A. Our staff is excellent, and you are in good hands. B. I think you should calm down and look at the positive side. C. Are you feeling that no one understands? D. I find that hard to believe.

Correct Answer is C

Explanation

Choice A reason: Praising the staff dismisses the patient’s feelings, a nontherapeutic response. It fails to explore the patient’s sense of isolation, potentially worsening distrust, as it does not engage the emotional distress expressed, making this choice incorrect.

Choice B reason: Telling the patient to calm down and focus on positives minimizes their feelings, a nontherapeutic approach. It ignores the underlying emotional distress, potentially inhibiting therapeutic communication and trust, making this choice incorrect for the scenario.

Choice C reason: Reflecting the patient’s feeling of being misunderstood is therapeutic, as it validates their emotions and invites further exploration. This open-ended response engages the patient’s limbic system, fostering trust and emotional processing, making this the correct choice.

Choice D reason: Expressing disbelief invalidates the patient’s experience, a nontherapeutic response. It risks alienating the patient, hindering therapeutic alliance by dismissing their emotional distress rather than exploring it, making this choice incorrect.

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What is waxy flexibility in psychiatric patients?

Nursing Test Bank

Naxlex Comprehensive Predictor Exams

A patient recently lost her spouse and says, “I don’t know how I’m going to live without him.” Which of the following responses by the nurse is nontherapeutic?

Correct Answer is C

Explanation

A client on a psychiatric unit states, “It’s a waste of time being here. I can’t talk to you or anyone.” Which is the correct nursing response?

Correct Answer is C

Explanation

Which of the following are examples of intentional torts in nursing practice? (Select all that apply)

What is waxy flexibility in psychiatric patients?

The nurse is caring for a patient recently diagnosed with a terminal illness. The patient says, “There’s no way this is right. I’m going to get another opinion—this doctor doesn’t know what they’re talking about.” The nurse recognizes that the patient is in which stage of grief?

The nurse is preparing to perform a psychosocial assessment on a patient. Which of the following should be included in the environment to promote an effective assessment? (Select all that apply)

A patient is brought to the psychiatric unit by family members after expressing suicidal thoughts but refuses voluntary admission. The healthcare team proceeds with involuntary commitment. Which of the following statements best describes involuntary commitment?

The nurse uses a variety of therapeutic communication skills when working with patients. Which of the following is a therapeutic goal that can be accomplished through the use of therapeutic communication?

A patient diagnosed with schizophrenia tells the nurse, “I hear voices sometimes, but they don’t bother me.” Which of the following is the most appropriate open-ended response by the nurse to further assess the patient’s experience?