An instructor is educating a group of nursing students on defense mechanisms. The instructor ...

Ans: B
Defense mechanisms (also known as coping styles) are defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5 as mechanisms that mediate the client's reaction to emotional conflicts and to external stressors. Some defense mechanisms (e.g., projection, splitting, acting out) are almost invariably maladaptive. Others (e.g., suppression, denial) may be either maladaptive or adaptive, depending on their severity, their inflexibility, and the context in which they occur. While defense mechanisms might seem to indicate the existence of a problematic mental state, this is not true. Healthy individuals in many different contexts use defense mechanisms. As with some other mental illnesses, the use of defense mechanisms becomes maladaptive when their persistent use reduces the client's quality of life. The degree to which a particular defense mechanism is maladaptive varies.