Twenty-four hours after being transferred from the pediatric intensive care unit to the regular pediatrics floor, the seven-year-old child is asked about his experience in the PICU. The child says he was not in the PICU but came directly to the floor from the ambulance ride. The nurse recognizes this is a coping behavior for the child known as:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Repression is a defense mechanism where an individual unconsciously blocks out painful or traumatic experiences from their memory to protect themselves from emotional distress. In this scenario, the child's claim of not remembering being in the PICU, despite evidence to the contrary, suggests the use of repression as a coping strategy to deal with the potentially traumatic experience.

Twenty-Four Hours After Being Transferred from the Pediatric Intensive Care