CRC Psychosocial Adjustment 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Research on the 'disability paradox' found that many people with serious disabilities:
- Report lower quality of life than non-disabled peers predict for them
- Report higher quality of life than outside observers expect (Correct answer)
- Show linear decline in life satisfaction with disability severity
- Consistently rate their lives as unsatisfactory
Correct answer: Report higher quality of life than outside observers expect
The disability paradox, documented by Albrecht and Devlieger, found that many people with serious disabilities report a good or excellent quality of life despite external observers predicting otherwise.
Question 2: A client who experienced a stroke six months ago continues to grieve her pre-stroke identity. The most appropriate counseling approach is:
- Encourage her to move past grief and focus on current functioning
- Normalize grief as part of identity reconstruction and support meaning-making (Correct answer)
- Refer her immediately to a psychiatrist for prolonged grief disorder
- Advise her that grief should have resolved within 6 months
Correct answer: Normalize grief as part of identity reconstruction and support meaning-making
Grief over the loss of one's pre-disability self is a normal part of adaptation, and supporting meaning-making through narrative approaches is appropriate.
Question 3: Which of the following BEST characterizes the role of spirituality in psychosocial adjustment to disability?
- Spirituality consistently hinders adjustment by promoting passivity
- Spirituality can serve as a significant coping resource for many clients (Correct answer)
- Spirituality should never be discussed in rehabilitation counseling
- Spirituality has no empirical relationship to disability adjustment
Correct answer: Spirituality can serve as a significant coping resource for many clients
Research supports that spirituality and religiosity can function as important coping resources that enhance meaning-making and adjustment for many individuals with disabilities.
Question 4: The concept of 'secondary gain' in rehabilitation refers to:
- Additional disabilities that develop after the primary disability
- Benefits such as attention or financial support that may reinforce sick-role behavior (Correct answer)
- Gains in function achieved during the second phase of rehabilitation
- Secondary employment income obtained by clients
Correct answer: Benefits such as attention or financial support that may reinforce sick-role behavior
Secondary gain refers to psychological, social, or financial benefits that a person may derive from maintaining disability status, which can inadvertently reinforce sick-role behavior.
Question 5: A client with a visible facial disfigurement reports anxiety about returning to work due to anticipated staring and questions from coworkers. The counselor should FIRST:
- Dismiss these concerns as unfounded since coworkers should be accepting
- Conduct exposure therapy immediately
- Validate the concerns and collaboratively develop coping and communication strategies (Correct answer)
- Recommend working from home to avoid the problem
Correct answer: Validate the concerns and collaboratively develop coping and communication strategies
Validating legitimate social concerns and collaboratively building coping and disclosure strategies is the most therapeutic and empowering response.
Question 6: Which of the following is an example of an intrinsic motivation factor supporting rehabilitation engagement?
- Financial incentive for attending sessions
- Desire to return to personally meaningful activities (Correct answer)
- Pressure from family members to participate
- Threat of losing disability benefits
Correct answer: Desire to return to personally meaningful activities
Intrinsic motivation arises from within the individual, such as the desire to return to activities that hold personal meaning and value.
Question 7: The World Health Organization's ICF framework addresses psychosocial adjustment primarily through which component?
- Body functions and structures
- Activity limitations and participation restrictions (Correct answer)
- Environmental factors only
- Health condition classification
Correct answer: Activity limitations and participation restrictions
The ICF's activity and participation component captures the functional and social dimensions of living with a health condition, reflecting psychosocial adjustment.
CRC Psychosocial Adjustment 5
Research on the 'disability paradox' found that many people with serious disabilities: