Determining mood and affect is an important part of the mental status exam. Although both of these terms refer to feeling states of the individual, it would be correct to say that affect is more than mood.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Affect refers to the emotional expression that an individual displays in the moment, while mood is a more stable emotional state that can persist over a longer period of time. Therefore, "immediate" is the best choice as it represents the temporary and current emotional state that affect is describing. The other options (severe, problematic, stable) are not applicable as they do not accurately reflect the concept of affect.

Determining Mood and Affect Is an Important Part of the Mental