The nurse is caring for an adult patient with a recent below-the-knee amputation. During shift report, the nurse reports that the patient has urinated in the bed multiple times since the surgery. Which defense mechanism best describes this behavior?
a. compensation
b. denial
c. rationalization
d. regression
ANS: D
Regression is the return to an earlier developmental stage as a means of avoiding unpleasant or unacceptable thoughts. The adult patient recently lost a limb and reverted to bedwetting as a coping mechanism. Compensation refers to a strategy that uses a personal strength to counterbalance a weakness or a feeling of inadequacy. Refusing to accept a fact or reality as truth is termed denial. Rationalization is the act of suggesting a different explanation for one that is painful, negative, or unacceptable.
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