Survivors of Abuse and Neglect & Somatic and Dissociative Disorders

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering psychiatric-mental health nursing concepts for abuse, trauma-informed care, somatic symptom disorders, and dissociative disorders.

Walker's Cycle of Violence

A conceptual model describing the cyclical progression of battering relationships through three distinct phases: Tension-Building, Acute Battering, and Honeymoon Phase.

Tension-Building Phase (Phase I)

The first phase of the cycle of violence, characterized by minor battering incidents, verbal abuse, mounting tension, and placating behaviors by the survivor.

Acute Battering Phase (Phase II)

The second and most destructive phase of the cycle of violence, marked by severe physical and emotional assault and rapid escalation.

Honeymoon Phase (Phase III)

The third phase of the cycle of violence, characterized by extreme contrition, remorse, loving behavior, and promises to change before the cycle repeats.

Mandatory Reporting

A legal obligation requiring nurses to immediately report any suspected child abuse or neglect to appropriate authorities.

Elder Financial Exploitation

A form of elder abuse characterized by unauthorized property transfers, altered financial assets, or missing personal funds.

Rape Trauma Syndrome

A trauma response following sexual assault that progresses through an Acute Crisis Phase (expressed, controlled, or somatic styles) and a Long-Term Reorganization Phase.

Expressed Style

An acute crisis reaction in Rape Trauma Syndrome presenting with crying, sobbing, visible panic, and emotional volatility.

Controlled Style

An acute crisis reaction in Rape Trauma Syndrome presenting with a calm, subdued, numb, and guarded external affect.

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANEs / SANEs-P)

Specialized forensic registered nurses who perform trauma-informed forensic examinations, collect evidence, and provide emotional stabilization.

Chain of Custody

A strict protocol for gathering, labeling, documenting, and securing physical trauma evidence and kits to preserve legal fidelity.

Safety Planning

A nursing intervention focused on establishing escape routes, safe code words, emergency contacts, and shelter resources for abuse survivors.

Somatic Symptom Disorders

Physical responses to unconscious severe anxiety where physical symptoms lack organic disease findings.

Dissociative Disorders

A group of disorders characterized by a disruption or breakdown of identity, memory, awareness, or perception serving as a defense mechanism against trauma.

Somatic Symptom Disorder

A condition involving multiple persistent physical complaints with high illness anxiety that cannot be medically explained, persisting for longer than 6 months.

Illness Anxiety Disorder

An unrealistic preoccupation with and fear of having or acquiring a serious undetected illness, characterized by somatic hyper-awareness with minimal or absent physical symptoms.

Conversion Disorder

A functional neurological symptom disorder presenting with a loss or change in voluntary motor or sensory function directly preceded by intense psychological conflict or severe stress.

La Belle Indifférence

A classic clinical presentation in conversion disorder characterized by a relative lack of concern regarding the severity of one's neurological impairment.

Factitious Disorder Imposed on Self

The intentional falsification of physical or psychological signs or induction of injury/disease, motivated by a primary gain of assuming the sick or patient role.

Factitious Disorder Imposed on Another

The intentional fabrication or induction of illness in a dependent (such as a child) by a caregiver seeking attention and contact with healthcare personnel.

Primary Gain

A psychological mechanism where a somatic symptom enables the client to avoid an unacceptable internal conflict or anxiety-provoking activity.

Secondary Gain

An interpersonal dynamic where a symptom elicits emotional support, attention, sympathy, or relief from customary responsibilities from family and caregivers.

Tertiary Gain

A systemic dynamic where a client's physical illness diverts focus away from underlying dysfunctional family conflicts or dynamics.

Localized Amnesia

An inability to recall all events related to a specific, isolated traumatic incident.

Selective Amnesia

An inability to recall certain specific details surrounding a traumatic event, while other details are retained.

Generalized Amnesia

A profound loss of memory encompassing a client's entire life history and personal identity.

Dissociative Fugue

Sudden, unexpected travel away from home or work accompanied by an inability to recall one's personal past and the potential assumption of a new identity.

Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID)

A dissociative condition characterized by the existence of two or more distinct personality states (alters) and recurrent amnestic gaps, typically linked to severe early childhood trauma.

Depersonalization

A temporary alteration in self-awareness characterized by feelings of detachment from one's mind, body, or self-processes, such as feeling like an outside observer.

Derealization

An altered perception of the external environment in which surroundings feel dreamlike, distant, foggy, unreal, or visually distorted.