A client with bipolar disorder is refusing to take mood stabilizers due to weight gain. To increase the patient’s adherence to a medication regimen, what measures could the nurse teach the client? (SELECT ALL THAT APPLY)

 

a. Charming, dramatic, seductive, and seeks admiration.

Explanation of Choices

Choice A Reason: Charming, Dramatic, Seductive, and Seeks Admiration

Clients with histrionic personality disorder often exhibit behaviors that are charming, dramatic, and seductive. They seek constant attention and admiration from others. These individuals may use their appearance and behavior to draw attention to themselves and can be very expressive and theatrical. Their need for approval and validation is a core feature of the disorder, and they may go to great lengths to ensure they are the center of attention.

Choice B Reason: Preoccupied with Minute Details and Is a Perfectionist

This description is more characteristic of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD), not histrionic personality disorder. Individuals with OCPD are often preoccupied with orderliness, perfectionism, and control. They may focus excessively on details, rules, and schedules, often at the expense of flexibility and efficiency. This behavior is not typically seen in those with histrionic personality disorder.

Choice C Reason: Grandiose, Self-Important, and Has a Sense of Entitlement

These traits are more indicative of narcissistic personality disorder. Individuals with narcissistic personality disorder often have an inflated sense of their own importance, a deep need for excessive attention and admiration, and a lack of empathy for others. They may believe they are superior to others and expect special treatment. While there can be some overlap in behaviors, these traits are not the primary characteristics of histrionic personality disorder.

Choice D Reason: Describes Difficulty Being Alone and Shows Indecisiveness and Submissiveness

This description aligns more closely with dependent personality disorder. Individuals with dependent personality disorder often have difficulty making decisions without excessive advice and reassurance from others. They may feel uncomfortable or helpless when alone and may go to great lengths to avoid being alone. They often exhibit submissive and clingy behavior, seeking others to take care of them.

Choice A Reason:

Emotional injury and learned helplessness. While emotional injury and learned helplessness are significant consequences of intimate partner violence (IPV), they are not the central factors driving the dynamic of IPV. Learned helplessness refers to a state where the victim feels powerless to change their situation due to repeated exposure to traumatic events. Emotional injury is a result of the abuse but not a driving factor.

Choice B Reason:

Poor communication and social isolation. Poor communication and social isolation can exacerbate the situation but are not the primary factors central to the dynamic of IPV. Social isolation is often a tactic used by abusers to control their victims, but it is a consequence rather than a cause. Poor communication can contribute to misunderstandings and conflicts but is not the root cause of IPV.

Choice C Reason:

Power and control. This statement is correct. The central dynamic of intimate partner violence is the abuser’s desire to exert power and control over their partner. This need for dominance manifests through various abusive behaviors, including physical, emotional, psychological, and financial abuse. The Power and Control Wheel, a tool developed by the Domestic Abuse Intervention Project, illustrates how different abusive tactics are used to maintain control over the victim.

Choice D Reason:

Erratic relationships and vulnerability. Erratic relationships and vulnerability are characteristics often seen in IPV situations but are not central to the dynamic. Vulnerability can make individuals more susceptible to abuse, and erratic relationships can be a symptom of the abuse, but they do not drive the abusive behavior5.