Joy has just experienced her fifth spontaneous abortion. She is unable to understand why this is happening to her. Joy voices her anger toward her physician and the nurses by accusing them of incompetence. Assessing the situation, the nurse recognizes that the patient may be using the coping mechanism of:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Displacement is a defense mechanism where an individual redirects their emotions or reactions from the original source to another target. In this scenario, Joy is redirecting her anger and frustration from the situation of experiencing multiple spontaneous abortions, which she might feel powerless against, towards her healthcare providers, who are more accessible targets for her emotions. This is a classic example of displacement, where the emotional response is shifted from the actual source of distress to another, often less threatening, target.

Joy Has Just Experienced Her Fifth Spontaneous Abortion