Chapter 42 Stress and adaptation

Which of the following responses to stressors results from the activation of the local adaptation syndrome?

• A girl quickly withdraws her hand from a stream of hot tap water.

• A woman’s impending job interview has prompted the activation of her fight-or-flight response.

• A man is experiencing moderate anxiety before meeting with an important client.

• A man has a sudden urge for a bowel movement before undergoing thoracentesis.

Answer explanation

The reflex pain response is a response to physiological stress that is a component of the local adaptation syndrome. Psychological anxiety and the activation of the fight-or-flight response are not considered to be manifestations of the local adaptation syndrome.

Which of the following best describes stress?

• A response to changes in the normal balanced state

• A perception that something is threatening

• A response to internal environment for homeostasis

• A localized response of a tissue or organ to a stressor

Answer explanation

Stress is a condition in which the human system responds to changes in its normal balanced state. Stress results from a change in the environment that is perceived as a challenge, a threat, or a danger, and can have both positive and negative effects.

Cold temperatures and loud noises are stressors to one person but not another. Why does this occur?

• Although the perception is the same, the response is individualized.

• Both individuals will respond the same, depending on the situation.

• The perception and effects of stressors are highly individualized.

• The internal environment of one person is more selective.

Answer explanation

A stressor is anything that is perceived as challenging, threatening, or demanding. Stressors may be internal or external. The perception and effects of the stressors are highly individualized.

What is the term for the change that takes place in response to a stressor?

• Rehabilitation

• Adaptation

• Positive movement

• Negative movement

Answer explanation

When a person is in a threatening situation, immediate and often involuntary responses occur. The change that takes place in response to a stressor is adaptation.

A client responds to bad news regarding test results by crying uncontrollably. What is the term for this response to a stressor?

• Adaptation

• Homeostasis

• Coping mechanism

• Defense mechanism

Answer explanation

When a person is in a threatening situation, immediate responses occur. Those responses, which are often involuntary, are called coping responses. The change that takes place as a result of the response to a stressor is adaptation.

Various physiologic mechanisms within the body respond to internal changes to maintain relative constancy in the internal environment. The state that results is called what?

• Nirvana

• Homeostasis

• Fight-or-flight response

• Anxiety

Answer explanation

To maintain health, the body’s internal environment must remain in a balanced state. Various physiologic mechanisms within the body respond to internal changes to maintain relative constancy in the internal environment, which is called homeostasis.

A student is preparing for her first client care assignment. She wakes up at 4 AM with a pounding pulse and diarrhea. What type of adaptive response to stress is she experiencing?

• General adaptation syndrome

• Mind–body interaction

• Local adaptation syndrome

• Coping or defense mechanism

Answer explanation

The student’s response to stress exemplifies the mind–body interaction and illustrates a link between psychological stressors and the physiologic stress response. A person perceives a threat on an emotional level as though it is a physiologic threat, and the body prepares itself for the fight-or-flight response.

A client with an inflamed appendix is feeling pain in the stomach area. What is the term for this body response to stress?

• Local adaptation syndrome

• General adaptation syndrome

• Physiological homeostasis

• Fight-or-flight response

Answer explanation

The local adaptation syndrome is a localized response of the body to stress. It involves only a specific body part (such as a tissue or organ) instead of the whole body. The stress precipitating the LAS may be traumatic or pathologic.

What phase of the general adaptation syndrome is a client in when he uses all of his adaptive mechanisms for dealing with stress, leaving no defense against the distress?

• Alarm reaction stage

• Fight-or-flight stage

• Stage of resistance

• Stage of exhaustion

Answer explanation

Exhaustion results when the adaptive mechanisms are exhausted. Without defense against the stressor, the body may either rest and mobilize its defenses to return to normal, or reach total exhaustion and die.

A client who is being seen at a physician’s office states that he has “bad headaches all the time.” Diagnostic tests are normal. What is this type of response to stress called?

• Psychosomatic disorder

• Acute illness

• Chronic illness

• Pretend disorder

Answer explanation

Each person reacts to stress in his or her own way. With prolonged stress, some may develop diarrhea, others headaches. Such illnesses are real and are called psychosomatic disorders because the physiologic alterations are thought to be at least partially caused by psychological influences.