A student observes as an adult brother and sister lash out at the nurse caring for their hospitalized parent. The parent lives at home but is dependent on the children for care and is obviously neglected
The nurse has informed the children that social work will be involved in their father's case. How does the nurse explain this interaction?
A.
"Don't worry; they will calm down eventually."
B.
"Families often get emotional in these situations."
C.
"They are focusing attention on me, not the problem."
D.
"This family is obviously highly dysfunctional."
ANS: C
This family is dysfunctional, but that does not go far enough to explain the situation. This behavior is known as triangulation, and occurs when a dyad diverts attention away from their problems and chooses instead to focus on a third party, in this case the nurse. Reassuring the student they will calm down is neither helpful nor accurate as the family members may choose to continue to lash out. Families often do get emotional, but again, this information is not really helpful.
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