To assess patients effectively, the nurse must understand that the essential difference between somatoform disorders and dissociative disorders is that somatoform disorders:

Question

a. involve the expression of anxiety through bodily sensation or function, and dissociative disorders alter consciousness, recall, and awareness of self.
b. follow a particularly traumatic event, whereas dissociative disorders are responses to the accumulation of distress from multiple stressors.
c. usually affect persons older than age 40, whereas dissociative disorders are primarily disorders of persons younger than age 40.
d. involve the patient being unaware that they have a psychological problem, whereas persons with dissociative disorders are fully aware they are troubled.

Answer 1

A
Somatoform disorders involve the expression of anxiety through somatic (bodily) complaints. The physical disorders or sensations that result are real, not feigned, and serve to help manage or reduce the patient's anxiety. Dissociative disorders involve the defense mechanism of dissociation, wherein consciousness, memory, identity, or perception is altered to control anxiety. Trauma or abuse can contribute to either category of disorders. Both disorders occur across the age range, and persons with either type of disorder may lack insight into the psychological origins of their present-day distress and symptoms.