A patient uses newly formed words whose explanation cannot be understood. The patient is suffering from?

Appeared in: UPRVUNL - 2021

Explanation

Neologism is the psychiatric term for the creation of new words that are only meaningful to the person using them.
The question stem describes a patient using "newly formed words whose explanation cannot be understood," which is the clinical definition of neologism.
This symptom is considered a formal thought disorder, often associated with schizophrenia and other psychotic conditions.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

Option B: Delusion is a disorder of thought content (a false, fixed belief), not a disorder of speech form. The patient is creating new words, not expressing a false belief.
Option C: Hallucination is a disorder of perception (a false sensory experience), not speech. The patient is speaking new words, not seeing or hearing things that aren't there.
Option D: Amnesia is a disorder of memory. It involves the inability to recall past events or form new memories, not the creation of new words.

Related Visual

Clinical Relevance

Nursing practice connection: Use the key finding related to Identification of psychiatric symptoms related to thought and speech disorders to guide bedside assessment, documentation, and the next nursing action.
Recognizing neologisms is a key nursing assessment skill in psychiatry, as it points towards a potential underlying psychotic process like schizophrenia.
When a patient uses a neologism, the nurse's priority is to maintain communication, ensure safety, and accurately document the symptom for the care team. Do not simply ignore the word.
What if the patient was not creating a new word but was using a known word incorrectly (e.g., calling a pen a 'food stick')? This is a different type of speech disturbance called a 'word approximation' or 'paraphasia', indicating a slightly less severe disorganization of thought.

How to Approach the Question

First, analyze the core complaint in the question stem: a patient is using "newly formed words" that are not understandable.
This points to a problem with the form or process of thought and speech, rather than the content of their beliefs or their sensory perceptions.
Evaluate each option based on this core complaint.
Neologism directly translates to 'new word' and is the specific term for this symptom.
Eliminate Delusion (false belief), Hallucination (false perception), and Amnesia (memory loss) as they relate to different psychiatric domains.

Concept Tested & Keywords

Concept Tested: Identification of psychiatric symptoms related to thought and speech disorders.
Stem keywords: newly formed words, explanation cannot be understood
Lead-in keywords: suffering from
Negative lead-in flag: false

Question ID

QIrHlc65IAxEXG5N-uwxAR

Reference Book

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 15410-15412

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) p. 3577-3579

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