A nurse is performing an admission assessment on a client who has been diagnosed with schizophrenia. Which of the following findings should the nurse identify as a negative symptom?

Choice A rationale:

Tremors. Rationale: Tremors can be a withdrawal symptom associated with alcohol withdrawal. These tremors are often referred to as "alcohol shakes" and are a result of the central nervous system adapting to the sudden absence of alcohol.

Choice B rationale:

Insomnia. Rationale: Insomnia is a common withdrawal symptom during alcohol withdrawal. Alcohol disrupts sleep patterns, and when a person stops drinking, their sleep cycle may be disturbed, leading to difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep.

Choice C rationale:

Severe hypotension. Rationale: Severe hypotension, or very low blood pressure, is not a prominent withdrawal symptom of alcohol. Alcohol withdrawal can lead to an increase in blood pressure rather than severe hypotension.

Choice D rationale:

Hyperglycemia. Rationale: Hyperglycemia, or high blood sugar, is not a direct withdrawal symptom of alcohol. However, chronic alcohol use can affect blood sugar regulation over time. During acute withdrawal, hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) is more common due to altered metabolism.

Choice E rationale:

Visual hallucinations. Rationale: This statement is correct. Visual hallucinations can occur during alcohol withdrawal and are often indicative of a more severe withdrawal syndrome known as delirium tremens (DTs). DTs can include visual hallucinations, confusion, agitation, and autonomic hyperactivity.

Choice A rationale:

Circumstantiality refers to a communication pattern where the individual provides excessive, unnecessary details before reaching the point. In this scenario, the patient's response is not characterized by providing excessive details but rather by the use of words that sound alike but have no meaningful connection.

Choice B rationale:

Clang association is a communication pattern where the individual's speech is characterized by rhyming or the repetition of words that sound similar but lack logical connection. The patient's response, "This is a new day in May and I can't wait to play," demonstrates this pattern, as the words "May" and "play" rhyme but don't form a coherent sentence.

Choice C rationale:

Tangentiality refers to a communication pattern where the individual goes off-topic and never returns to the original subject. The patient's response, while seemingly off-topic, is not a clear example of tangentiality, as the words used are related in a rhyming manner rather than being entirely unrelated.

Choice D rationale:

Neologism refers to the creation of new words or phrases that are not part of any recognized language. The patient's response does not involve the creation of entirely new words; instead, it involves the use of existing words that rhyme but lack a coherent connection.