A client who is in a severely abusive relationship is admitted to a psychiatric inpatient unit. The client fears for her life

Question

A staff nurse asks, "Why doesn't she just leave him?" Which is the nursing supervisor's most appropriate response? 1. "These clients don't know life any other way, and change is not an option until they have improved insight."
2. "These clients have limited cognitive skills and few vocational abilities to be able to make it on their own."
3. "These clients often have a lack of financial independence to support themselves and their children, and most have religious beliefs prohibiting divorce and separation."
4. "These clients are paralyzed into inaction by a combination of physical threats and a sense of powerlessness."

Answer 1

4
Rationale: The nursing supervisor is accurate when stating that clients who are in abuse relationships are paralyzed into inaction by a combination of physical threats and a sense of powerlessness. Women often choose to stay with an abusive partner: for the children, for financial reasons, for fear of retaliation, for lack of a support network, for religious reasons, or because of hopefulness.