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Evaluation and Diagnosis Flashcards

7 cards from real HSP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.

Read the first 7 Evaluation and Diagnosis flashcards as text

  1. A health psychologist is evaluating a patient with chronic pain. Which instrument is most specifically designed to assess pain catastrophizing?

    Answer: Pain Catastrophizing Scale

    The Pain Catastrophizing Scale (PCS) directly measures rumination, magnification, and helplessness related to pain.

  2. When diagnosing Somatic Symptom Disorder in DSM-5, which criterion differentiates it from DSM-IV's Somatization Disorder?

    Answer: Medically unexplained symptoms are no longer required

    DSM-5 SSD focuses on disproportionate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors rather than requiring symptoms to be medically unexplained.

  3. A clinician uses the MMPI-2-RF instead of the MMPI-2. The primary advantage of the RF version is:

    Answer: Hierarchical structure with reduced scale redundancy

    The MMPI-2-RF uses a hierarchical, deductive structure that reduces redundancy and improves discriminant validity compared to the MMPI-2.

  4. A patient presents with episodic chest pain, dizziness, and fear of dying, but cardiac workup is negative. The next most appropriate diagnostic consideration is:

    Answer: Panic Disorder

    Recurrent episodes of intense physical symptoms with fear of dying or losing control, without medical cause, are hallmark features of Panic Disorder.

  5. In neuropsychological assessment, which test battery is most commonly used to evaluate a broad range of cognitive domains in adults following brain injury?

    Answer: Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Battery

    The Halstead-Reitan Battery is a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery widely used to assess cognitive functioning after acquired brain injury.

  6. A health psychologist reviewing a patient's health behaviors uses the AUDIT-C. This tool screens primarily for:

    Answer: Harmful alcohol use and dependence

    The AUDIT-C is a 3-item screen derived from the full AUDIT that identifies hazardous and harmful alcohol consumption.

  7. A psychologist notices that a patient's PHQ-9 score improved from 18 to 7 after treatment. According to PHQ-9 scoring, this represents a shift from:

    Answer: Severe to mild depression

    A PHQ-9 score of 15–19 indicates moderately severe depression, and a score of 5–9 indicates mild depression.