Question

A 15-year-old boy was admitted to the pediatric unit following an injury to his leg. When told that the complicated fracture would require surgical repair and prevent a return to the football team for an unknown extended period of time, the boy throws an apple from the lunch tray at the nurse. Which type of coping behavior is the teenager exhibiting? A. Reaction formation B. Projection C. Denial D. Displacement

Short answer

D. Displacement

Step-by-step solution

Identify the Scenario

Read the scenario carefully to understand the context and the behavior displayed by the teenager. This involves recognizing that the teenager is responding to emotional stress from the news of the injury and the implications it holds for their return to sports.

Define the Coping Behaviors

Define each of the coping behaviors listed as options. Reaction formation involves behaving in the opposite way to which one truly feels. Projection involves attributing one's own unacceptable feelings to others. Denial involves refusing to accept reality or facts. Displacement involves shifting feelings from an undesirable situation to a less threatening one.

Match the Behavior to the Coping Mechanism

Analyze the teenager's action of throwing an apple at the nurse and match it to the correct coping mechanism. The correct answer involves identifying that he is redirecting his feelings towards an unrelated target, which is characteristic of displacement.

Key concepts

Understanding Psychological Stress

Psychological stress occurs when an individual perceives that the demands of their environment exceed their ability to cope. In the context of pediatric nursing, stress can have significant implications on a young patient's well-being, as it did for the 15-year-old boy in the exercise.

Typically, a stressor such as a severe leg injury can disrupt a teenager's life, especially when it entails a halt in engaging in beloved activities like football. The teenager's response to being told about the surgery and his sidelined condition exemplifies a common emotional reaction to such stress. Stress can manifest in behavioral changes, and coping mechanisms are the strategies employed to handle the psychological impact.

A coping behavior like 'displacement', demonstrated in the exercise, is a defense mechanism where a person shifts their feelings from the original source of stress to another person or object. Throwing the apple is not a direct reaction to his condition but a redirection of his intense emotions towards the nurse, an unrelated target. Recognizing such behaviors is crucial for nurses to support their pediatric patients adequately.

The NCLEX-RN Examination

The National Council Licensure Examination for Registered Nurses (NCLEX-RN) is a standardized exam that nursing graduates must pass to obtain their nursing license. This exam involves a variety of questions that assess the critical thinking and judgment skills necessary to practice nursing safely and effectively.

Pediatric nursing is a component of the NCLEX-RN, posing scenarios like the provided exercise. Prospective nurses are tested on their knowledge of age-appropriate care, including the management of psychological stress in adolescents. To succeed on the NCLEX-RN, candidates must be skilled in identifying and understanding different coping behaviors and developmental stages.

By studying scenarios similar to the one about the teenager with the leg injury, nurses can enhance their interpretive skills. These scenarios encourage nurses to improve their capacity to provide emotional support and to anticipate potential behavioral responses to stress in pediatric patients.

Pediatric Nursing Practices

Pediatric nursing focuses on the medical care of children from infancy through adolescence. It requires a holistic approach that includes addressing the physical and emotional needs of children.

In pediatric nursing, a nurse would encounter patients like the 15-year-old boy with a sports injury referenced in the exercise. The approach to such cases involves more than just attending to the physical aspects of care; it demands the understanding of developmental psychology. Pediatric nurses are equipped to recognize that adolescents may struggle with expressing their feelings adequately and sometimes participate in behavioral displacement as a coping strategy.

Effective pediatric nursing practice is grounded in empathy and the ability to adapt to each child's individual needs. Recognizing coping behaviors like those shown in the exercise is vital, allowing nurses to provide the necessary support and interventions to promote healing, both physically and psychologically.